The Aftermath
by Born Into Flame
Summary: When Beck tried to kiss Tori, Jade was broken...but not yet destroyed. Following Bade: past, present, and future.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I only own the made-up actions of the characters that haven't taken place in the show. I do not own the characters, Victorious, The Beatles, or Shakespeare. This is my first fanfiction!

3 years ago, he'd asked her out.

3 months ago, their usual playful bickering turned cruel.

3 weeks ago, he'd broken up with her, left her via door.

3 days ago, he'd thrown his arms tightly around Tori, showing more support for little-miss-sparkles-and-sunshine than he'd shown her in three years.

3 hours ago, he'd tried to kiss _her_: 3 hours ago, _she_ was the one to push him away.

3 minutes ago, she gave up the chance to prove her father and his oh-so-perfect new wife wrong to Tori.

And 3 seconds ago, that bastard had the nerve to smile at her. He had the nerve to give her his stupid, wow-I'm-checking-you-out cocky little smile after she'd sat next to him because Toooori couldn't. Toooori was too busy making it shine on the stage. (...okay...she'd done a good job parading around the stage. Even Jade had to admit.)

But what could Jade do but put her big-girl panties on and smile back? He didn't know that she'd seen. He didn't know that she'd heard those fatal words, "Why can't we kiss?"

...he didn't know how her heart had dropped into the pit of her stomach when 10 seconds were up and she was still starring at the polished wood pattern of the Vegas' front door.

She smiled and looked away. She gave Vega a congratulatory hug. And then she went home. (Jade may have been happy for Vega, but she wasn't going to stand around to watch her sign the autographs that were meant to have her John Hancock.)

As she drove home, she dug her black-donned fingernails into the steering wheel. And she thought. And she thought. She thought about how hard she'd worked on the video she'd sent in for her Platinum Music Awards audition. She thought about the hours that she'd put in getting the notes and tonal quality _just_ right, the pain-staking effort she put in so that the judges felt the same amount of emotion listening to the song as she had when she'd first recorded it on a midnight alone in the school-recording studio with Andre. She remembered seeing Cat's video, which was , as usual, great. And Andre had showed her his audition tape before he sent it in (because, who can give "constructive criticism" the way that Jade West can?). Even before Andre fixed his video after getting Jade's feedback, jade had thought his video was fantastic.

But who won the audition? Tori. The same girl who'd performed as a last-minute player on the crazy stage only known as "performance art" for the first time one year ago, and then experienced no turbulence whatsoever after that. Once Tori was invited in, all anyone would ever talk about was how she hadn't had to audition to get into Hollywood Arts, oh no, she was so good, she was freakin' _invited_. Everyone quickly forgot that Jade had gotten in on a full scholarship after Principal Eikner saw her performing magic, music, and mischief on a street corner near the school building. (On the first day Eikner saw her, Jade belted out "Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles, and then made her body disappear. Her decapitated head finished the song. On the second day, Jade performed _all_ of the parts in Shakespeare's _Julius Caesar_, complete with costumes and live music supplied by one of her closest friends at the time, Andre. On the third day, Principal Eikner walked up to her and asked her how she would feel about attending Hollywood Arts.)

But, of course, no one remembered any of this once Tori came into the picture. Not even Beck, whose only purpose in life seemed to be paying compliment after compliment Tori to anyone who'd listen. But would Beck dare to tell her he loved her in public? Dare to give even a hint that he was proud to have her as his girl? No, he had better things to do with his time. Like call Jade insecure. Yeah, there was always time for that.

…it wasn't that Jade could deny that the girl had talent. She couldn't even convincingly call Tori a bad person. She just didn't understand how with her experience, her work ethic, her tireless decidation since childhood to making it big time…how she could keep losing. How she had lost the leads in school plays, whatever amount of respect Sikowitz had had for her…for pity's sake, she'd even managed to lose her boyfriend's love, and the small amount of attention that her father dared to give her for an hour every three months. Whenever she went into her father and new wife's house, she would have hardly stepped in for 30 seconds to wipe off her combat boots on the welcome mat when her step-mother would give her the usual disapproving look and ask her why she didn't dress more like that pretty girl who her father had met at her play, Well Wishes. But Jade didn't care about what her step-mother from hell had to say…but she did care when her father would deftly nod his head in agreement.

As soon as Jade shut the front door behind her, she collapsed in tears, her back slowly sliding down the door. The house was silent…save for the pattering of the tiny feet of her little brother, Johan. Johan saw his big sister crying, and quickly asked, "Jadey…what's wrong?" Then remembering the last time that he'd caught Jade crying, "Did Beck hurt you again?"

Jade couldn't do anything but clutch his tiny 3-year-old body to her like a teddy bear. Oh yes, tonight Beck had hurt her. But, if she had it her way, no one would be able to see the tears she'd cried. No one…especially not that stupid JerkBot.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything other than my made-up actions of the characters, Victorious belongs to Nickelodeon. I don't own Johnny Depp either, unfortunately. XD

Note: Thanks so much for the alerts and favorites everyone! 3 If you guys could leave some reviews, that'd be great!

When Jade woke up the next morning, she found that she had been propped up against her bed, with an old blanket falling of her shoulders. She turned to see her little brother asleep in her lap. Jade smiled and flicked his ear gently to wake him up. After Jade had rubbed some of the sleep from her eyes, she seemed to realize that she had gone from being collapsed against the door to her living room to the foot of her bed.

As her brother started to wake up, she asked, "Johan...did you drag me all the way up the stairs by yourself?"

Her brother nodded his head mutely, still too sleepy to function. Jade lifted her brother up and tucked him into her bed, and then began to stretch. As she pulled her arms over her head, she caught sight of her alarm clock, only to see that in ten minutes, she would be late for school. She quickly threw on all of her clothing and grabbed her bag and phone. But as she picked her phone off the table, she felt an intense pang in her chest when she saw that under the phone had been an old picture of her and Beck, at a time when Jade had still believed that he might have actually been in love with her. With shaking hands, Jade slowly picked up the picture. She was still holding the picture as she went to the bathroom, where she saw herself in the mirror for the first time. The crazy makeup that had been caked on her face for the Platinum Music Awards was now streaked down her cheeks in various shades of gray, black, and nauseating hot pink. When Jade touched her cheek, she saw that it was still sticky with tears. She had truly cried herself to sleep.

As she looked in the mirror, she found that she had become truly pathetic. What had happened to the strong, secure, no-nonsense girl that she had been before being with Beck chipped away at her security bit by bit? The old Jade would have never cried over a boy, regardless of whether the boy had been Beck Oliver or Johnny Depp. And as Jade looked at what she had become for a bit longer, she was consumed by rage. She quickly ripped apart the picture into as many pieces as Beck had ripped her heart into when he left her. She would be sure to burn the picture later. She began to viciously claw at the makeup on her face until all that was left were long red marks from her nails. And as she looked down, she saw that she was still wearing the dress that the costume designers had forced her into. With a maniacal smile, Jade began to take brutal stabs at it with a pair of scissors from the cupboard. Once she felt that all of the remnants from the previous night were destroyed, Jade looked to see the clothes that had been going to wear to school that day. Acid-washed jeans with one of the plaid shirts that Beck had forgotten to take with him when he came to her house to get his stuff. Jade began to chuckle. Had she really wanted to _look_ like she was still so in love with Beck that she would wear his shirts even when he had ripped her heart out? Jade quickly threw the clothes aside and ran back to her room to find something better. Today, she wouldn't look like a sad little girl still trying to get over her failed relationship. Today, she would look like Jade West, the girl who had needed nothing but a street corner to impress Principal Eikner and get a full scholarship to Hollywood Arts. And everyone would stare in awe because they wouldn't know what else to do.

So Jade stopped worrying that she would be late to class. If she was late, she was late. She would make a grand entrance. Every head in the house would turn towards her. Jade would make sure of that. So she carefully picked out her favorite black dress, the one that made every curve stand out while still managing to not make Jade look like she'd been plucked out of the Jersey Shore. She meticulously applied black lipstick to her already pouty lips, and applied her eyeliner carefully to make her ice-blue eyes pop. She curled her hair into ringlets, and put on her lucky ring. Last, she took her and Beck's silver necklace and quickly threw it out the nearest window. She had been keeping her necklace in her back pocket since her and Beck's breakup, just in case they had ever gotten back together. But no more. Jade was done with him. She was more than willing to tell Tori as soon as she saw her that Tori was free to take Beck. However, Jade was merciful. She couldn't say that she hadn't had some beautiful moments with Beck, but she also couldn't convince herself that the last three and a half years hadn't been painful. At the beginning of their relationship, Jade had been confident in herself. But as Beck began to flirt more and more with other girls, she began to feel inadequate. She soon became over-protective of Beck, and everyone around them began to think that _she_ was the gank...she had just been trying to protect what was hers...Jade wouldn't wish the mental torture and mind games that came with dating Beck onto anyone. Especially not someone who had denied him on the pretense that she was trying to protect Jade. Not someone who had called Jade her _friend_ (Jade couldn't remember the last time that someone other than Cat or Andre had done that.)

Once Jade felt that she was ready, she got into her car and drove to school. She was ready to take on Hollywood Arts. When she pulled into the parking lot, she heard the bell ring, signaling the students to move to their next class. But as she looked into a window as she walked towards the main entrance, she felt her confidence begin to waver. She saw a mob of students surrounding Tori, some begging her for autographs, and some desperately asking her to tell them about how _wonderful_ it had been to perform in front of millions of people. Jade knew that all of the people congratulating Tori had all known that Jade was the one who was supposed to perform. She didn't want to think about how all of the people who had laughed when Beck dumped her would react to her absence at one of the biggest events in American music. As Jade slowly pulled the door open, she told herself that she was Jade-freakin'-West, the girl destined to go home with five Oscars in her arms. She was Jade West, she had never met Beck Oliver, and if anyone had any smart comments to make to her, they could screw themselves over.

Jade marched into the room, a storm cloud at sea. She heard the chaos surrounding Tori die down. She looked up from her combat boots to see that all eyes in the room were on her. No one had seen Jade dress like, well, _herself_, in a long time. She saw that the jaws of several of the boys in the room had dropped, including Sinjin's (of course) , Ryder's (Jade didn't concern herself with the pervert), Andre's (...Jade found she didn't really mind the look of admiration on his face) and...Beck's. The later of the boys happened to be standing right next to her locker. As Jade went to undo her lock, she saw that he was still starring at her. Under normal circumstances, Jade might have playfully teased him. But the circumstances were not normal, and Jade West didn't love Beck Oliver anymore. She gave him a hard glare.

"Something I can help you with, _Beckham_?"

"It's just...you...look different. That's all." Jade saw Andre smile.

"Nah...she just looks like a Jade today. That's all."

Jade pulled her books out of her locker and gave Andre a grateful smile back. Beck glanced between the two uneasily, wondering if he'd missed something. Jade turned to realize that the rest of the hallway had been watching the exchange between the three.

"TO ALL OF YOU MORONS WHO CAN'T SEEM TO FIND ANYTHING BETTER TO DO WITH YOUR LIVES THAN _WATCH_ US, I SUGGEST YOU GET TO CLASS!"

The hall quickly cleared out. With one last look at Beck, Jade marched off towards her next class, with Beck's eyes following her as she moved. Andre nudged Beck.

"See something you like, huh?"

Beck did. He thought he might have just caught a glimpse of the girl he'd fallen in love with three years ago. And he wanted more.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious, just my wishes for characters' actions.

Note: Thanks so much to those who have reviewed already, to those who haven't, they're greatly appreciated! So...I'm doing something that I have been kind of dreading since the "incident" known as Tori Goes Platinum: figuring out what exactly was running through Beck's thick head.

Beck didn't know what he'd been thinking when he'd tried to kiss Tori...well...actually, he knew exactly what he'd been thinking. He'd thought that he'd be able to teach Jade a lesson for forgetting him. He thought that he'd be able to remind her of how they used to be when they were happy and not clawing at each other's throats. And what better way was there for him to do that than by kissing the one girl that drove Jade completely nuts? What could have possibly worked better than making Tori Vega his, and throwing it in Jade's face?

The problem had truly started 3 weeks ago, when he'd broken up with Jade. It wasn't that he was tired of Jade, he was just tired of the drama and arguments that came with being with Jade. He was just tired, that's all. So he let her go, thinking that he'd be able to forget her. But he couldn't. He'd waited and waited. He'd waited for the day when he'd be able to get ready for school in the morning without feeling pain over the fact that he wasn't allowed to wear his matching necklace anymore. He'd waited for the day when he could go to first period with Sikowitz without missing being able to wrap one arm tightly around Jade. He'd waited for the day when he could eat lunch without starring at Jade sitting just out of reach at the other side of the table. He'd waited for the day when he'd be able to walk into his RV without looking at his bed and thinking about how the only position he'd ever been able to fall asleep in was with his arms wrapped tightly around Jade. He'd waited. And waited. But he could never forget. His thoughts revolved around Jade; morning, noon, and night.

It only took 7 days after their breakup for the problem to escalate. While Beck was waiting for Jade to leave him alone, the Hollywood Arts rumor mill was quickly spreading that Jade had a new boyfriend already. A few days after the news trickled down to Beck, someone claimed to have supposedly seen Jade on a date with Ryder Daniels at Jet Brew, and then on another date with the player at some Italian restaurant or another. At first, Beck didn't pay the rumors any mind because he knew that Jade wasn't the type of person to immediately move on to another guy right after a break up. He knew she wouldn't because...well, because she was Jade. His Jade. So Beck ignored the rumors...until someone said that they had seen Jade at the movies with a hot football player from Sherwood. Then later, at the mall with a rebellious lead singer in a garage band from Burbank High. The witness had even uploaded a picture of the two on The Slap for evidence. Beck couldn't help but notice that the boy was buying Jade a coffee in the picture. And that he looked like he was trying to hug her. But, Beck still kept his cool. He was too calm a guy to worry about whether or not the girl _he_ broke up with was moving on to someone else. (Beck seemed to forget that he had the right to worry, considering that he still woke up every morning wondering why Jade wasn't next to him.)

Beck was cool...until some genius announced that he was sure that Jade and Andre were dating. Beck's blood was positively boiling after that. What kind of _idiot_ could possibly think that Jade and Andre, who were like brother and sister in Beck's eyes, could possibly like each other in a way that wasn't strictly platonic?

Beck immediately went to find Andre to tell him that Rodney Larson was spreading rumors about him. But when Beck went into the Black Box Theater to talk to Andre, he saw him and Jade kissing. Granted, they weren't making out. They were short, chaste kisses. But what seemed to irritate Beck was that they weren't _stopping_. Jade didn't just kiss him once and then stop. She. Just. Kept. Kissing. Andre. And Andre wasn't doing anything to stop her. They were too absorbed in each other to even notice Beck. And Beck was so absorbed watching them that he didn't notice how his nails were drawing blood after he clenched his hands into fists. He was about to attack Andre. He was really about to kill him. But before Beck could reach him, it occurred to him that 2 and a half weeks ago, he'd let go of Jade. It occurred to him that he was supposed to be in the process of forgetting about her because he was supposed to be too tired of all of the fighting to want to continue his relationship with her. So, Beck let Andre go. And he never brought up the kisses to afterward. And besides, if Andre was in love with someone, Beck, as his best friend, was supposed to encourage him to go for it, right?

But when Beck got to the RV, he found that he couldn't forget about what he'd seen in the Black Box. And he couldn't stop thinking about Jade, Jade, Jade. As he sat down on his bed with his head buried in his hands, he thought about how many times he'd whispered in Jade's ear that he loved her, and how many times she'd said it back to him when they were wrapped in each other's arms in the RV. Had Jade been lying to him the entire time? He started to think about Jade with...Andre. How many times had they kissed? Did Jade let Andre hold her like she let Beck hold her? And as Beck kept thinking, his thoughts quickly turned darker. Had Jade slept with Andre? Did Andre have feelings for Jade when they were still dating? Did he only encourage Beck to act on his feelings and ask her out so that he could get closer to her? And a painful question: had Jade only stayed with him because _Andre_ was too busy dating other girls at the time? And the last question: _did she ever love me_?

..._did she?_

And with this, Beck was in a rage. He quickly got his hands on everything in sight that had ever been Jades. Her shirts, some scissors, a battered book. He ripped everything apart. With his mind still reeling, he threw open one of the drawers by his bed and pulled out the framed picture of him and Jade that he'd kept safely hidden away from the eyes of his friends after the breakup. After seeing Jade's soft smile as she had her arms wrapped around Beck's neck in the picture, it almost seemed like he was going to calm down. But as he pressed a shaking finger to Jade's cheek, he remembered seeing her lips pressed against Andre's. Without another thought, Beck threw the picture at the wall. As the glass shattered, Beck came out of his violent trance. He looked around the RV and saw that every item of Jade's that he'd so carefully taken care of after their breakup was now broken. Beck, realizing what he had done, slowly picked up one of Jade's now broken scissors. As he crawled towards the destroyed picture frame, he picked up bits and pieces of Jade's things, becoming more and more depressed every time he picked something up. And as he got to the picture, he felt his heart drop. The glass from the frame had spread everywhere, and the picture had torn so that Jade had been separated from Beck.

As Beck held Jade's half in his shaking fingers, he began sobbing. He had already lost Jade physically, and failed at trying to erase Jade mentally...but now he had destroyed his memories of Jade too.

When Beck woke up the next morning, he found that he had fallen asleep on the floor next to his bed with pieces of glass embedded in his arm. And after looking at the pieces of Jades things surrounding him, he had decided. He would make Tori Vega his, and Jade West would forget Andre and remember that she was still in love with Beck Oliver.

So, Beck spent the next few days being as nice and supportive as humanely possible to Tori after she discovered that she was to perform in the Platinum Music Awards. And after Jade ended up being chosen to perform instead of Tori, Beck smirked, realizing that she'd made his job too easy. So, Beck went to Tori's house and tried to kiss her for the second time. But, as plans have a habit of doing, Beck's plan failed.

The next day, after Jade strode into the school like a hurricane and Beck watched her and Andre exchange grins, he wondered if something more had happened between Jade and Andre after the Platinum Music Awards. Andre had dropped her home, after all.

And as he watched Jade strut down the hallway with all the grace and confidence that she'd had on the first day that Beck had met her, he couldn't help but think that things would have gone so much better if Tori hadn't had to have been such a damned good _friend_.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious. There, I said it.

Note: Thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming! I love to hear from you all!

Second period was rather uneventful for Beck. His cinematography teacher was a cool dude, but even he started to get irritated when he noticed that Beck was completely zoning out every few seconds. So, he gave Andre the task of hitting Beck over the head with a textbook every time Beck zoned out. Even though Beck felt a large bump forming on his head after he was hit with the textbook the first time, he couldn't stay focused on the lesson. He could only think of, the usual,...Jade. When Beck saw her storm down the hallway towards her class, he couldn't help the tidal wave of nostalgia that washed over him. She had looked just like she had on the first day that Beck had met her. It had been in the 8th grade, on the first day of school. Beck had been too busy trying to make sense of his schedule to notice the girl who was approaching him with her sight blocked by the large stack of textbooks in her arms. The two had crashed, with Jade's textbooks scattering all around them. Beck's offer to help her pick up her books was cut off by Jade eagerly telling him what an idiot he was. She got her books herself and walked off. She didn't notice that Beck was rooted to his spot, or that he was starring after her. She might have called him an idiot, but Beck was enchanted. Most girls would have battered their eyes and started giggling if Beck had offered his help to them. But not this girl. She looked like she was more likely to stab him than try to flirt with him.

When Beck had had to find a place to sit at lunch, he saw that Andre was at a table with the eccentric red-head from his math class, a boy with his hand shoved up a puppet...and the girl. Beck had quickly made his way over to his best friend, who had introduced the girl clad in varying shades of midnight as Jade, and told Beck that she had used to be Andre's neighbor when they were little. After that, Beck spent every lunch hour with Andre and his new friends. He always made sure to sit next to Jade, much to her chagrin. The more time that Beck spent with her, the more fascinated he was with her. He began to study all of her quirks and talents, from the way she made her coffee, to how she prepared to write one of her beautiful scripts. It hadn't helped when Beck had heard her singing with Cat, the eccentric red-head, one afternoon when they had thought they were alone in the hallway. Seeing the way Jade's blue eyes got warmer and darker in accordance with the strong notes passing from between her lips didn't make it any easier for Beck to _not_ be obsessed with her. Beck couldn't understand how a girl as amazing as Jade West didn't have a boyfriend. But, he didn't complain. Because he wanted nothing more than for that girl to be his.

So he came to school the next day with a rose. At lunch, he sat down next to Jade, pulled out the rose, and asked her out. Jade smiled, and took the rose, and said...no. She then began to spend the rest of the period plucking out the petals of the rose one by one. Beck came to lunch the next day armed with a coffee, black with two sugars, just how she liked it. Jade took the coffee, but still turned him down. Beck ended up asking Jade out a total of 58 times before she said yes. Beck and Jade went out to see a horror movie for their first date. When Beck asked her why she finally said yes, she told him that she hoped that if he went out on the date with her and saw for himself that she was too much of a witch for him, he would give up on her. Seeing the sadness in Jade's eyes as she admitted that was all the encouragement Beck needed to wrap an arm around her shoulders and gently kiss her. He assured her that he wasn't going to give up on her so easily. Jade slapped him for kissing her on their first date. She then put his arm back around his shoulders and shyly intertwined her fingers with his. That was the first time that Beck had seen her genuinely smile. And he thought that it was one of the prettiest things he had ever seen.

...thinking back on the promise that he had made to Jade, Beck felt the tides of guilt begin to mix in with the waves of nostalgia. So he began to blank out even more. Which only caused the bump on his head to grow ever larger.

After his cinematography class, Beck made his way over to the boys' locker room for gym. He gave a quick nod of acknowledgement to Robbie and his puppet and put in his lock combination to get his clothes. As he began to change into his sweatpants, his thoughts drifted to Jade again. He remembered what had happened in the 10th grade when he had lost his phone in the locker room and dragged Jade in with him to help him find it. Jade, bored with searching, grabbed Beck and kissed him. Phone forgotten, they'd started to make out against the lockers...until one of the gym teacher had come out and caught them.

While Beck was smiling at the memory, Rex threw a water bottle at his head. While rubbing the spot where he was sure a concussion was forming, Beck came out of his reverie to hear the conversation that was taking place in the next bed of lockers. Peeking around the corner, Beck saw Ryder Daniels, Rodney Larson, and Aedyn Richards. He had heard one of them say Jade's name, and he figured that no one would mind if he listened in. He heard Ryder first.

"Dude...did you _see_ West this morning?"

"Who didn't? What do you think _happened_ to her?"

Ryder scoffed. "Does it matter? The gank managed to get even hotter than she already was. Good thing that Oliver kid ripped her heart out, huh? I'm sure she'd be pretty happy to have someone else around as a pick-me-up. Get what I'm saying?"

Beck felt anger ripple through him as he saw the look of pure lust on Ryder's face. He had to restrain himself from punching him right there.

"So man, what are you going to do?"

"What else? I'm going to make West mine. The chick's hot...damn talented too. A nice little perk."

Beck heard someone laugh behind him. He turned to see Robbie, holding Rex. Rex spoke.

"Do you honestly think that Jade would be crazy enough to go out with you after the stunt you pulled with Tori? If Jade's going to be going out with anyone, it's going to be me."

Ryder and his friends froze for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. Ryder, noticing Beck hiding behind the lockers, had Aedyn pull him out.

"What's the problem, Oliver," Ryder began, "you sent your little puppet master out to come deal with me? Too much of a coward to do it yourself?"

Rex yelled, "Aladdin didn't send Rob and me to do anything! I came here to warn you that Jade will end up with me, and only me. And if not me...well...we all know that she and Beck are going to get back together. You don't stand a chance in hell."

Anger quickly flashed on Ryder's face, then disappeared. Ryder moved towards Beck so that they were eye to eye. Ryder starred at Beck for a few moments before smiling wickedly.

"You still have feelings for West...don't you?"

Beck didn't answer, keeping his face as expressionless as it was on a normal basis. Ryder laughed and stepped closer.

"Okay, I admit it. Jade would be crazy to go out with me. But do you honestly think that a girl as sharp as Jade would be _stupid_ enough to get back together with you after everything you put her through?"

"I never said I wanted to get back together with Jade."

"But you didn't say that you didn't either...heard that you broke up with the girl via a door. _And_, anyone with eyes can see that you've been trying to make a move on Tori for the past week. That's cold. I wouldn't get back together with you even if I _was_ you."

The gym teacher stepped into the locker room to tell the boys that they were all late. Ryder shoved past Beck.

"If you are honestly thinking of getting back together with Jade, well then, _good luck_, Oliver."

As soon as Ryder and company left, Beck did not hesitate to throw a water bottle at Robbie's head.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious. But we all know what rockin' couple would still be together if I did. I do not own anything from The Worst Couple, specifically. Thank heavens for that.

Note: Sorry for the delay guys! Warning, this chapter may be slightly disturbing to some people. Please continue to alert, favorite, and review! I love you all for it!

_A clap of thunder caused Beck's eyes to slowly flutter open. Beck woke up to realize that his body was curled protectively around someone else's, his arms tightly wrapped around her waist. Beck gently pulled the locks of hair covering his sleeping partner's face aside, smiling when he saw that the girl sleeping soundly beside him was Jade. His eyes filled with warmth, a hearth on Christmas morning. God, how he'd missed her. Pulling her even closer, Beck pushed her hair away and buried himself in the crook of her neck._

_ Beck would have been perfectly content to stay in that position for the rest of the night. But as his lips brushed over Jade's skin, he felt his love begin to stir. Though awake, Jade kept her back to Beck. Beck felt the temperature in the RV cool considerably. Desperate to be immersed in the warmth that he had been earlier, Beck reached for Jade. But, he hesitated to grab her when he saw how tense her body was. The thunder that had been resounding in the background began to subside...It was just like one of Jade's horror movies...the quiet before the storm. Beck drew back his hand._

_ He and Jade waited in silence for a few moments. Then Jade finally spoke, in a voice that was unusually quiet for the normally loud, attention-grabbing girl._

_ "Why, Beck?"_

_ Beck felt his veins turn frigid; he knew something was definitely wrong with Jade, but he still couldn't place what it was. Afraid to speak, and even more afraid to turn her around to face him, Beck stayed mute._

_ "Why did you let me leave, Beck? ...aren't you going to answer me?"_

_ But Beck still stayed quiet. He saw Jade's shoulders begin to shake, a telltale sign that she was angry. When she spoke this time, her voice was colder than before._

_ "Beck," she said, her voice cracking._

_ Jade then turned to face him, her features a few inches from Beck's. Beck saw trails of red running down Jade's cheeks, which he quickly realized where blood-filled tears. As she spoke to Beck, the blood continued to pour from her eyes._

_ "Why. Did. You Let Me. Leave?"_

_ As Beck starred at Jade, paralyzed, she sat up in the bed, the blanket falling off her chest and resting on her legs._

_ "Was I not good enough for you anymore?"_

_ "Baby, what are you talking about?"_

_ "WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT?"_

_ As Jade's eyes began to shine bright in anger, the RV became darker. It was as though the lightning crackling outside the RV was setting the air inside ablaze with electricity. Beck waited, tension and current gliding over his skin. As Beck watched Jade, he suddenly felt the urge to curl up into a ball and die. Jade was breathing heavily, her blue eyes boring into Beck's. And as Jade continued to stare at Beck, deep gashes began to appear in her arm and on her face, as though some unseen entity was dragging a razor across her skin. Blood did not spill from the wounds, they were just...there. Fresh scars of unknown origin._

_ Beck pulled Jade's face into his hands, pressing his palm onto Jade' s cheeks roughly as he tried to keep new scars from forming. But, it seemed that the harder Beck tried to keep her skin together, the more quickly the scars appeared. Unsure of how to help his love, tears escaped Beck's eyes._

_ "Jade, what's happening?"_

_ Jade did not answer him, and her eyes only became angrier. Her tears stopped, but there was still red on her cheeks. But looking past her anger, Beck saw her chest heaving in the style of a defeated woman. Jade pried beck's hands from her face and stepped over him and out of the bed. As she looked Beck over, the anger left her eyes, instead replaced by a bottomless emptiness. _

_ "You really don't know what you did to me, do you?"_

_ Jade slowly hobbled over to the RV door. She rested her fingers on the door handle for a few seconds before letting the door creak open, allowing Beck to see the world outside his metal home had turned menacing. The RV seemed to be suspended in wisps of black ink. But scarier still were the people standing outside the door, their skin the color of the undead as they stared blankly at Jade. Standing outside was Jade's father, her stepmother, and a doctor, the few people on the planet that Jade was truly terrified of. But the last person standing outside the door's presence scared Beck more than the other three people combined. It was Beck's ex-neighbor, a man who had been arrested for murder two weeks earlier. Beck felt sick as he watched the lecherous man run his eyes over Jade's curves and lick his lips. _

_ "Jade, come back here!"_

_ Jade stepped outside, her fingers wrapped around the door handle. _

_ "I'm going to walk out this door, and I'm going to count to ten. If I get to ten and you're not out there, then," a tear slid down her face, "it's over. It's all over."_

_ Jade shut the door and began counting. _

_ Beck immediately jumped up to save her, but as he stepped towards the door, he felt strong fingers grab his wrists and drag him back towards his bed. He turned to see Trina poised on the edge of his bed, a cat ready to pounce._

_ Although it had been horrifying for Beck to see Jade sobbing out her own blood, Trina's face was undeniably more grotesque. Her teeth were gleaming pointed fangs, and her eyes were glowing a hellish red. Beck tried to get up to help Jade, but Trina used what appeared to be talons to pin Beck to the wall. She brought her lips close to Beck's ear and began cooing._

_ "You two might break up?...I always thought that you and I would make the perfect-"_

_ "Trina, I need to get to Jade! Those people are going to kill her!"_

_ "Jade? Why would you worry about Jade when you have me?"_

_ "Trina, please...", Beck felt tears stream down his face as he heard Jade scream in anguish after reaching six._

_ "I love her...please...she needs me..."_

_ Trina ran a hand through Beck's hair and then pressed a finger to his lips to hush him. But when he kept screaming for Jade, Trina dug her claws into Beck's shoulder until blood began to seep from his wounds._

_ "Let me go to Jade...she can't get to ten this time..."_

_ "But Beck...I'm such a fun girl..." _

_ As hard as Beck struggled, he couldn't get away from Trina._

_ Outside the RV, Jade reached 10._

_ But Beck didn't hear the fatal number, instead only hearing a gunshot and Jade's scream._

. . . . . . . ._  
_

...even after Beck had stopped screaming to catch his breath, the RV was still resonating with the echoing of Jade's screams. Beck turned to the empty space beside him on the bed and began frantically grabbing at the air, wondering when Jade would appear next to him, safe, sound, and in the one place in the world where Beck knew she would always belong,; right beside him.

Once Beck realized that Jade really wasn't there, he collapsed onto his bed, his body quivering as he sobbed. The only coherent thought running through his head was, "Must. Find. Jade. Must. Find. Jade."

..realizing that there was a way for him to have Jade, Beck tumbled out of his bed and towards his drawer. Pushing aside his knickknacks, he quickly grabbed Jade's section of the picture that Beck had accidentally serrated from his own. Beck held the picture to his chest as he slid with his back down the drawer, pretending that it was Jade's face that he was cradling in his hands instead of just a picture of her face.

...Beck had to admit, he had told Sikowitz a blatant lie when he'd said that he'd never experienced true terror. The reality was that after he and Jade had been dating for a while, and Beck had realized that he truly and honestly loved her, Beck started to have terrible nightmares about losing her. But, the effects of his nightmares were usually amended quickly when he woke up to see Jade's fingers held securely in his larger ones. All Beck needed was to place a protective kiss on her forehead before falling back asleep. Part of the reason why Beck had been so on edge the week that he and Jade went on Sinjin's gameshow was because Jade, upset after a fight, refused to sleep with Beck in the RV. He hadn't been able to get a wink of sleep that entire week.

But, after their breakup, Beck had spent so much time trying to convince himself that he didn't love Jade that the nightmares had stopped. Beck didn't know what had caused him to have the nightmare, but he did know that the nightmare he had just had had been worse than any he had ever had before. Although he always came close to losing Jade in his dreams, he never actually _lost_ her. He always got to her before she left.

Still sobbing, Beck began to rip out his own hair. Jade had always loved it, but since she wasn't there anymore...

Beck was too busy crying over Jade's picture to hear the door to his home creak open. When he looked up from the picture, he saw a pair of heeled black boots standing in front of him. He looked up at the girl and pulled her to sit next to him, running a hand through her tresses as he did. He allowed a maniacal grin to grace his features.

"Jade."

**Author's Note**: I'm actually enjoying writing in Beck's perspective more than I had originally anticipated, and I always imagined what Beck's undoing would be like so...this Your reviews are greatly appreciated!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.

Author's Note: I am so, so sorry for the late update! I've been sick and really busy for the past week. But, I can't begin to describe how happy I am that people like my first fanfiction. Please keep the reviews and alerts coming, they really make my day. Even if I'm sneezing my guts out. XD

There were very few things in Tori Vega's life that honestly confused her. She knew that she was blessed with a life with very few complications. Well, granted, there were always the screwball situations that she and the gang got into on a daily basis. But that whacked up chiz was just a part of being a Hollywood Arts student. And with friends as crazy as Cat, as adorkable as Robbie, or as dark and/or suffering from deep psychological problems as Jade, Tori never had to look far for the answer to why weird things always seemed to be happening to her. But, she wouldn't change her weird existence for anything.

Her parents did honestly love her, which Tori had learned was a precious gift in itself after meeting Jade's father and Jade's, fifteen-years-too-young-to-be-married-to-a-man-as-old-as-Mr.-West stepmom. And even though Trina could be very selfish and a complete and utter thorn in Tori's side, she knew that deep down, her conceited older sister loved her too. Because a sister who didn't love her wouldn't have been so anxious to get her out of a Yerbanian prison, or congratulate her after she took her place in the show she'd spent months preparing for. Tori's friends were the good kind of people. She knew that she could put her faith in Cat, Beck, and Robbie's hands. And after what had happened at the Platinum Music Awards, Tori knew she could trust Jade, too. ...And where would she be without good ol' Andre Harris, her best friend? If not for him, she would have still been at Sherwood with no idea that somewhere deep in her vocal chords was the ability to produce song; an ability that had caused an entire crowd of people to stand up and cheer, _just for her_. Tori had been a plain Jane at her old school, which might have been the reason why she always got stuck with boys like Danny, or friends who never bothered to call after she transferred schools. But once she'd reached Hollywood Arts, Tori'd felt strangely, _at home_. The Hollywood Arts kids were nothing like the ones from Sherwood...these kids spent every day working towards their freakin' _dreams_, while the Sherwood kids had all been concerned about who was throwing the next party where they could all guzzle down as many drinks as they'd wanted.

So, Tori had never had a reason to be truly confused...until she'd had to stop by Beck's RV so that she could give him back the Pearphone that he'd left at her house the day before when he'd been working on a project with her and Cat. When she'd approached the door, she'd heard someone sobbing on the other side. Tori had briefly thought that someone else was in Beck's RV. After all, Beck was...well, Beck was cool. Tori had been good friends with him for a little over a year, and she'd only seen him show four emotions, cool (present on his face most of the time), worried (he was a caring friend and boyfriend), angry/annoyed (but only when he and Jade would be fighting) and...in love. Which was, again, an emotion that only seemed to come out when Jade was around (one reason why Tori just couldn't bring herself to kiss him when he'd tried to bring his lips closer to hers). She didn't think it was possible for a guy as chill as Beck to break down. But, then she realized that there really wasn't anyone other than Beck who could get inside his RV in order to cry there at eight o'clock on a Saturday morning.

Tori pressed her ear to the door, hoping to catch a hint of what had caused one of the most stable people she knew to cry. In between gasps, she heard Beck moan out the name of his ex-lover, a name he'd refused to let slip from between his lips for almost a month since..._the incident_, as she and her friends had referred to it. And as Tori continued to hear his sobs, she felt her heart break. She wasn't the kind of person to leave a friend in need, and Beck had always been there for her. So she slowly pushed the door open and made her way inside...

...only to be more confused than before. She saw Beck with his back to his drawer cradling a ripped picture in his hands. But what she found really strange was that clumps of hair, hair that appeared to be Beck's, were surrounding him. Terrified at the thought of what could have been terrible enough to cause Beck to rip his pride and joy from his head, Tori approached her friend cautiously.

Beck only seemed to realize Tori was there after he'd spared a few seconds towards not gazing longingly at the picture held securely in his fingers. Tori saw a look of complete shock pass over Beck's face as his eyes ran over her features. Before she could ask him what was wrong, she felt his nails dig into her wrist as he pulled her down to sit next to him. She really didn't know how to respond as he ran his fingers slowly through her hair. He placed a shaking hand to her cheek, smiling after running a thumb over her cheekbone. She couldn't help but notice the two tears that escaped his eyes as he smiled.

"Jade."

...and this was the point at which Tori's level of confusion grew to a dizzying extreme. She knocked on Beck's head and chuckled nervously.

"Everything working right up there? I know I might smell like coffee right now, but I'm not Ja-"

Tori was cut off as her face was smothered into Beck's chest, his arms wrapping tightly around her as his face rested in the crook of her neck. She felt his fingers quaking as more tears slipped onto her skin.

"Jade, I'm so, so sorry. I'm sorry for letting you get to ten, I'm sorry for not going after you, I'm sorry that I messed us up, I'm...I'm sorry for everything, Jade."

"Beck, stop, I'm-"

"I know, I know that you're mad at me. And I can't blame you. I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry that I did something so stupid to someone who I...who I _love_ so much. You know that, right? I love you? That I never stopped? You know that right?"

"...what is the matter with you? Can't you see that I'm n-"

"I know you might think that I'm the biggest jerk in the world, but...would you take me back? Please? I...I took you back after you dumped me. Can you do the same for me now? I need to show you that-

Tori had finally managed to wiggle herself so that Beck was forced to loosen his grip on her.

"Beck, listen to me, I'm not Jade!"

"I know...you're..." ,Beck smiled, "you're just like you were when I first met you. Beautiful, confident," Beck chuckled, "and you'll always be just a little vicious. And," Beck's eyes lit slightly, "I'll always love you. Regardless of the stupid things I do...or...don't do, I guess."

"Beck, you don't understand."

"No, Jade, I do understand. I understand that I messed up bad and that it will take you a long time to forgive me...but would you at least give me the chance to prove that I can be forgiven?"

At this point, Tori had had enough. Unsure of what she could actually do to help her delirious friend, she ripped his arms from around her so that she was free and stood up. She made her way to the door. Seeing her leaving, Beck immediately tensed up.

"Jade, please, don't go."

Tori opened the door, then turned to face Beck.

"Beck, I'll be back soon. I think you need help, so I'm just going to go get Andre..."

But Beck didn't hear anything after 'I'll be back soon.' He had made the mistake of letting Jade walk out the door once, he wasn't going to make that mistake again. He quickly ran over to Tori, grabbed her hips, and pinned her to the wall as his lips attacked hers. Beck was so desperate to show Jade how much he loved her, how much he _needed_ her, that he failed to notice that the girl pinned against him was screaming at his contact. Tori hit Beck's chest, hoping that he'd come to his senses and release her, but he only kissed her harder. Tori knew that her lips would be many shades of orchid once she got away from Beck. When hitting him with her firsts seemed to have no effect, Tori reflected on the advice her police officer father had told her to use if she was ever harassed. But she really didn't want to ruin a friends chances of ever having children...

When her other ideas failed, Tori finally settled for reaching into Beck's hair and tugging back as hard as she possibly could. She then shoved him away from her so that he landed on his back a few feet from her. As his head hit the floor, Beck seemed to come out of his reverie. He looked up to see Tori, her lips purple, her hair disheveled, and her eyes angry. Now, it was Beck's turn to be confused.

"Tori? What,...what are you doing here?"

As Tori's stare became more intense, realization became apparent on Beck's face.

"Tori, I-"

But, Tori had already run out the door. She never did seem to find Andre...or remember that she'd told Beck she would be back.

Beck couldn't bring himself to go after her...not after what he'd done. He wouldn't be surprised if her father showed up at his door with a taser within a half hour.

Beck collapsed on his bed, pressing his hands against his eyes. He didn't know how he could possibly show his face to Jade after trying to kiss Tori...pardon, her _friend_.

...in retrospect, Beck couldn't figure out why he'd been so eager to kiss _Tori_ of all people to get back at Jade before the Platinum Music Awards. She tasted like coffee with too much milk. Sweet, but...

...he wasn't sure that he'd ever be able to get rid of his addiction to black with two sugars.

**Author's Note:** Thank you for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I am fairly certain that I do not own the show THAT WAS NOMINATED FOR THREE EMMYS! WOO-HOO! But, I am still upset that Bade is not back together. :( But, hey, now we'll cherish their future moments even more, right? 3

Author's Note: As usual, thanks for the reviews and favorites! Please keep reviewing, love you all!

Jade had to admit. She'd been having a fairly decent week. She hadn't realized how...how secure, how _free_ she would feel after directing her thoughts towards forgetting about Beck rather than thinking about how much she missed him. She had started to feel comfortable without the Canadian's arms wrapping around her shoulders, started to feel comfortable in her own _skin_ for the first time in weeks. Without Beck, she didn't have to worry about being an afterthought. She didn't have to worry about feeling second-best as compared to whichever skank had been throwing herself at Beck's feet that day. While unattached, Jade had realized that she really didn't need to make herself think that those girls were better than her. Especially when a majority of them, without a doubt, would end up being prostitutes or street walkers because they would never know how to do anything _but_ throw themselves at guys who had nothing going for them but their looks. But, hey, maybe they'd get lucky and find someone with money too. That way they'd have _something_ to fill out their bras with.

Jade didn't need to worry about people like that. When Jade got a guy's attention, she did it by being her own damned self, _not_ by batting her eyelashes till her eyeballs popped out of her head. Jade knew that when she was little, all of the nice parents would tell their kids to be themselves if they wanted to make friends. She knew that most of the kids probably dismissed their parents' Hallmark-esque sentiments as wishful thinking. But, Jade knew that the statement was true... for the most part. On one hand, she would always have to put on the sweetest face she possibly could in order to get on the good side of casting directors. On the other...while all the beach blond bimbos had to press themselves as close as possible, twirl their hair around manicured fingers and pop their gum to get Beck's attention...

...it was Beck who'd had to perform a monologue, the subject of which was infatuation, buy her coffee for two weeks straight, and eventually resort to getting down on one knee with a black rose in hand in front of the _entire_ Asphalt Café in order to get Jade to bat an eyelash.

...by that point, the only thing about the break-up that concerned Jade was that she hadn't realized how stupid she was being sooner.

Yes, Jade had been having a decent week. With the exception of...the _boys_. Jade wasn't sure what had happened, but boys had started taking _interest_ in her...not to say that they weren't interested enough to begin with. And who wouldn't have been? Jade West was the world's most beautiful enigma, regardless of whether or not she was fully aware of the fact. Within 3 periods on Wednesday morning, she had been asked out by 5 guys...and she had a feeling that the number would have been higher, if only she hadn't thrown coffee down the last boy's pants. Poor Sinjin, he could never catch a break. (But who could blame her for being angry after having found him in her closet the previous weekend?)

Jade wasn't sure what had happened. Outside of Hollywood Arts, guys didn't hesitate to approach her (which, in retrospect, wasn't always a good thing considering her last trip to Nozu with Tori). But within Hollywood Arts, all of the boys knew that Jade West was untouchable. While with Beck, she never _looked_ at another guy. But even with Beck out of the picture while on a trip to Canada or some other nonsense...well, the boys knew that Jade could and would do unspeakable things to them with her scissors if they did try to pull something over.

So, yes, it was a surprise to Jade when guys magically started asking her out again. Then the thought occurred to her that maybe they'd all been dared or betted to do it. What other reason could they possibly have for putting themselves at risk of death by scissoring?

So, Jade decided that the situation called for a bit of interrogation. Since questioning Beck was definitely out of the question, and Robbie was never in the know on...well, anything, Jade decided to ask Andre what was going on. And she knew that he'd give her a straight answer. The boy just couldn't lie to her. The close friendship that she'd had with Andre before coming to Hollywood Arts only became stronger after becoming his best friend's girlfriend. It had taken Jade some time to warm up to him at first...but what could she say? Andre was the guy who everybody could trust. Even a body like Jade West.

She eventually found the Music Man in the school recording studio, where they'd stayed for hours trying to finish Andre's song months ago. Andre smiled and gave her a nod when she stepped into the room.

"What goes on?"

Jade, ignoring his question, tossed her bag to the side and sat down next to Andre.

"Have you been hearing about any bets going around that involve me?"

"...what?"

"Beck used to tell me that the reason why girls' friends can always tell when a boy is about to ask them out is because if a guy is going to ask a girl out, he doesn't keep it quiet. And a lot of guys have been asking me out. And I don't know why. But I figure there's money involved. Have you heard anything or not?"

"...no, I haven't been hearing anything."

"...Really?"

"Not a thing."

Jade's face was blank for a second. She then stepped up and began to pace around the room.

"I don't understand!"

"Um, Jade? I-"

"If no one's doing it because of a dare, then why? Why?"

"Jade, I really need to-"

"I have been single for almost a month now! Did anyone at this school ask me out in the past month? No! Are those morons asking me out now? YES! What is going on?"

"I need to finish this song, so-"

"Seriously, they had all this time to ask me out...wait...maybe it's not a dare..."

"Jade."

Jade turned and grabbed Andre by the collar.

"Do you know what it must be, then?"

"Umm...no?"

"A PRANK!" Jade released Andre and he fell back into his chair.

"They're trying to pull a prank on me!" And Jade kept babbling as she paced.

"Ohhh, those morons think they're going to pull one over on me? HA! Do they not realize that I am the _Queen_ of Pranking?"

"Jade."

"No, no, not the Queen. The Joker. I am the Joker of Pranking."

"Jade."

"No, the badass. I AM THE FREAKIN' BADASS OF PRANKING, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

"Yes, you psycho, I understand."

"WELL GOOD!" Jade proceeded to pull out a pair of scissors from God-knows-where and chuck it at the wall.

Andre, tired of trying to cut into Jade's crazed ranting, decided the poor child needed to see the light. But first, she needed to stop pacin' the room like Sherlock gone wild. As Jade continued to babble, Andre grabbed some duck tape and wrapped it around her arm, then pressed her arm so that it stuck to the couch. Jade looked at him, furious, then raised her black talon-bearing hand so that she could rip apart the tape.

"WAIT!"

Jade paused, her fingernails just grazing the tape.

"If you rip that tape and try to go on a rant again, I'm going to sing... _the song_."

"You wouldn't."

"Really? Ahem. IF YOU'RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT, CLAP YOUR HANDS!"

Jade immediately covered one of her ears with her free hand.

"Stop it, stop it! I'm listening!"

"Good. Now what have you been going on about?"

"...a lot of guys have started asking me out. I don't know why. You're a guy, as far as I know. Explain it to me."

Andre couldn't help but sigh. Was the girl really that blind? He sat down next to her and pulled her taped up arm off the couch. Ignoring her protests, he started to rip off the tape.

"Girl, you really can't figure out why guys are swarming you? Why they waited till now?" Jade shook her head. Andre starred at Jade for a few minutes, realized that she was honestly confused, and then lowered his tone. He turned Jade's head so she could look at him and know he wasn't playing around.

"Did you ever think that the reason why they're asking you out now is because you're finally acting like a free woman? Like yourself? Boys are treating you like you're single because...well...girl, you're finally acting like you're single! ...you don't seem like you're still trying to get over Beck anymore, so they all are deciding that it's time for them to make a move." Andre saw some of the confusion leave Jade's eyes. But after seeing that some of the uncertainty was still there, he put a hand over hers and gave it a squeeze.

"And you know what? I'm happy for you. You showed everyone you're strong enough to move on. I'm proud of you, you psycho-child." Andre saw Jade's face light up with a small smile.

"No chiz?" Andre returned the smile.

"No chiz." When Jade cautiously wrapped her arms around Andre's neck, he was more than happy to return the hug. It wasn't everyday that Jade West decided to be affectionate. After Jade let go, she looked at Andre for a few seconds before giving him a feather-light kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you."

With a grateful look towards the musical prodigy, Jade left the studio. She didn't seem to notice how Andre's face had turned beet red after she kissed him.

But Beck did. He had _noticed_ everything from the window of the studio.

And as far as Beck was concerned, Andre's cheeks weren't the only things that were turning deep crimson.

Beck couldn't help but shake as his world bled.

**Author's Note**: I know that this chapter is less...umm...twisted? Is that the proper word?, than the other chapters. I guess this is like a breather...is it strange that when writing dialogue for Andre, I can hear Leon Thomas's smooth as silk voice in my head? ...that boy is the epitome of swag. The freakin' epitome. Anywho, THANKS FOR READING! HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY, VICTORIANS AND BADEMANCERS!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Still don't own Victorious. Sorry to disappoint. XD

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews everyone! Please keep 'em coming!

After Jade left, Andre's fingers had hardly touched the keyboard for a minute when he felt someone's fingers wrap around his collar and pull him up out of his chair. Andre braced himself to deliver a well-placed punch. But, as he was forcibly turned around, he saw that his assailant was none other than...Beck?

"Um...hey, man. What's the-"

"How could you?"

"...how could I what?" Beck's grip on Andre grew tighter. His voice came out in a low, serpentine hiss.

"Don't pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about, Andre."

"...if I did know what you were talking about, why would I ask you what you're talking about?"

"I know that you like Jade!" Beck released Andre so that he fell back against the keyboard. Beck's rage really didn't help Andre's confusion. In 7 years of friendship, he had never seen his friend so angry before.

"Of course I like Jade!" Andre swore that he heard Beck growl. "She's my friend!"

Beck blessed Andre with a sardonic chuckle, which only served to alert and frighten Andre even more. Beck Oliver didn't do sardonic. Beck starred at Andre steadily, making Andre wonder what kind of a response he had been hoping to get out of him. Beck snorted.

"Friends. _Right_."

"Well...yeah. Friends." Andre tried to lighten the mood. "Were you expecting me to say siblings? 'Cuz boy, you might need to get your eyesight-"

"Would you stop trying to cover it up!"

"Cover _what_ up?"

"I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE FEELINGS FOR JADE!"

"What? I don't have_ feelings_ for Jade West!" Noticing that Beck was stepping closer to him, Andre put his hands on his shoulders and tried to get him to step back.

"Me and Jade are _just_ friends. That's it."

"Yeah, 'cuz I'm sure that everyone blushes when their "just friend" kisses them on the cheek! Robbie doesn't even do that when Cat does it, and we all know he's completely crazy about her!" Beck took another step towards Andre.

"So...what does that say about you and Jade, then?"

"It doesn't _say_ anything! Unlike you, not every guy can manage to get a new girl every week! I haven't been able to score a decent date for the past month, and Jade's a beautiful girl. Can you blame me for going a little red?"

"Gee, I _really_ wonder why it's so hard for you to get a date."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What kind of girl would _want_ to go out with a guy who'd go after his best friend's girl after they broke up? Well, Jade, apparently, but aside from that..."

Andre's fingers clenched. He had had crushes on Jade at three times in his life. Once when they were little, once in middle school, and once while she was attached. And when Andre had realized that he had fallen for the girl his best friend was in love with, he had done everything in his power to make sure he didn't act on his feelings. And as nasty as Jade was capable of being, she really wasn't bad. She was _not_ the kind of person to screw with her ex's head by pulling his best friend into the mess. Especially if said best friend was her friend too. Jade wouldn't do something like that to Andre, and Andre wouldn't do something like that to Beck. Andre shoved Beck. As Beck stumbled back, Andre started picking up his sheet music and supplies, getting ready to leave.

With his back to Beck, he said, "I am _not_ the kind of person to go after my best friend's girl. I thought you of all people would know that."

"I thought I did. But, you know, since you think Jade's so _beautiful_..." Andre threw his things onto the couch.

"Jade _is_ beautiful! And you know what else, Beck? She's freakin' _human_. She's a _human being_. Or did you forget?"

"What are you-"

"Don't act stupid. Ever since you ripped Jade's heart out, you do not hesitate to rip into _her _every time her name comes up. And don't even try to convince me otherwise, everyone knows you're only doing it so that you can convince yourself that you didn't make the biggest mistake of your life by letting her walk out the door."

"I-"

"Don't even start! You know, and I know, that you made a mistake. And do you want to know something? I get that you and Jade fought a lot. I get that the fights weren't one-sided. But the actual break-up? That was all on you."

"Stop right-"

"That entire week before the break up...I swear, I thought you were on drugs or something! Here's how it usually went. You might do something to get Jade riled up, Jade would freak, you'd calm her down, you guys would cuddle and go back to having that sweet relationship that the rest of us only dream of. But that week? Beck, every day. Every _day_, you were saying something to make sure that she got mad. You mad sure to push her to her limits. And when she got upset? You didn't do anything. Just added salt to her wounds to make it worse."

"Andre, you better-"

"That week, I seriously thought that you had fallen out of love with Jade. And don't even get me started on how you've been acting after the break up. I swear, if I didn't know you better, I would think that you never loved her!" Andre didn't notice Beck's nails drawing into his palms...the blood that was pooling in his heart and destiny lines...

"You didn't deserve to treat Jade the way you did, and you _definitely_ do not deserve to get jealous just 'cuz the girl kissed me on the cheek!" Beck pulled his fist back. Andre closed his eyes. He'd said what he'd needed to. He was willing to face the repercussions. But before Beck's fist made contact, he felt something hit him in the back of the head. Beck turned to see Tori standing behind him, another pillow in her hands.

"...seriously, Beck?"

"Tori-"

"You're going to hit your best friend for telling the truth?" Tori walked over to Andre and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Beck, Andre isn't the only one who's seeing it. You're being a jerk. To Jade, to Andre...who next? Cat?" Beck was silent.

"...Beck, do you have any idea what this guy's done to make sure he didn't do anything to jeopardize your and Jade's relationship?" Andre's eyes widened.

"Tori, I don't think you should-"

"He needs to know, Andre." Beck didn't miss the look that was passed between the two. Andre nodded.

"Do you remember that song Andre wrote at the Full Moon Jam a while back? 365 Days? For his dog?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with...," Beck's eyes widened. "That song was for Jade?"

"Just listen. The reason why I made Andre perform the song was so he could get over his feelings for Jade. So he could move on for your sake. And hers. He didn't want to hurt you, Beck."

"You...you wrote a love song...for...for my girlfriend? While I was dating her?" Tori groaned.

"Did you miss everything I just said? Andre was beating himself up for days because he didn't want to be in love with his best friend's girlfriend. Do you understand that?" Beck seemed to calm down for a second, but then the inferno returned.

"Doesn't really matter that he tried to get over her then, does it? He was still willing to kiss her later." Tori and Andre stared blankly at Beck for a few seconds. And then,

"WHAAT?" Andre nudged Tori aside.

"You think I _kissed_ Jade?"

"I know you did! I saw you guys kissing!" Andre's face was blank for a few seconds, then recognition flashed on his face. Tori cut in.

"Andre would _never_ kiss Jade!"

"No, Tori. I did kiss Jade." Tori's expression was unreadable. Beck was even angrier than before.

"See? He admits it."

"But I didn't kiss her because I wanted to kiss her. I kissed her so that she would stop rambling."

"...what?" Andre sighed.

"It was a week after they broke up, and me and Jade were supposed to rehearse this love scene for Sikowitz's class. So we went to the Black Box to practice. And we had to do a stage kiss-"

"See, Beck? It was a stage kiss."

"That's not why I kissed her, Tori."

"Dude, just finish your excuse."

"When we got to the part of the script where we had to kiss, I moved in to kiss her, and she pulled away. So we tried the scene again, and she wouldn't kiss me. I asked her what was wrong, and she had a couple tears running down her face. You know why, Beck? The girl _missed_ you. And she kept going on about how she wished that she had done things differently, that she was sure you'd make a move on Tori now that she was out of the picture..." At this, Beck and Tori seemed to suddenly find their shoes very interesting.

"...and...she just wouldn't _stop_. Stop saying that she was bad, that she was never worth it...it was horrible. She wouldn't listen to reason. And...do you remember how you used to tell me that the best way to shut Jade up when she was in an angry rant was well...by kissing her? I didn't know what to do...so...

"You kissed her," Beck finished.

"Yeah. I did. And yes, we kissed a couple times. I guess you left then. After we kissed, she looked at me, and she looked so...so broken. She just collapsed. I hugged her and let her cry. She fell asleep. So I picked her up and took her home. The next day she found me in the hall and...she thanked me. For being nice to her...Do you have any idea how heartbreaking it is to have someone thank you because you were _nice _to them? Nothing happened between us after that. We just became better friends. Nothing more. Nothing less." His story finished, Andre turned to Beck.

"I hope my _excuse_ was satisfactory." Andre grabbed his stuff and left. Tori stayed for a few seconds before following.

Beck was alone.

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading! Love you all!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.

Author's Note: As usual, thanks for the awesome reviews! Please continue to review, they make me a very happy clam! :)

After school, Andre and Tori immediately piled into Andre's car and drove to Tori's house. After the two made their way through the door, they did not hesitate to collapse on Tori's couch. The two rested for a few moments, their arms stretched out along the couch and their fingertips barely touching as they tried to forget about the events of their day and relax. Andre turned, noticing the tension plastered on his friend's high cheekbones. Andre slowly got off the couch. He passed his hands over Tori's closed eyes, made several clown faces, and moonwalked around the couch. But Tori didn't open her eyes to acknowledge him. Andre starred at Tori's still crashing form, wondering what it was that had caused her to be so tired. Sure, their earlier confrontation with Beck hadn't been pretty, but Tori had missed the uglier parts that Andre had been alone to deal with. Andre flicked Tori's cheek and stood with his hands on his knees as he waited for her earthen eyes to slowly flutter open.

"You want some warm cocoa?" Tori wearily nodded. Andre moved to the kitchen to look for the kettle. As Andre set the water to boil, he didn't notice Tori nervously rubbing her arms, or the look of pure guilt on her face. A few minutes later, Andre returned with a warm mug in his hands. He placed the mug in Tori's fingers and put a comforting arm around her, trying to ease the tension from her shoulders. Tori wanted nothing more than to melt into her friend's embrace, to rest her head on his shoulder and simply close her eyes and sleep. But she was sure that showing that level of affection would violate some article or another of the best friend code. So she kept herself stationary. As Tori felt the heat from Andre's fingertips continue to warm her shoulder, she started to feel even guiltier. Andre's words during his revelation to Beck keep running through Tori's brain, over and over on an endless replay: _She was sure you'd make a move on Tori now that she was out of the picture._

Tori turned to face Andre, and when she saw the concern reflected in his eyes, she felt her throat clench. Andre had been her first friend at Hollywood Arts, he was the reason she got in the school, the reason she had learned to love performing, the reason that she had developed confidence in herself. And above all, he was her best friend. Granted, she knew that she hadn't been spending as much time with Andre recently, instead spending time with Beck, but she knew that Andre would always be her number-one friend, the one person who she knew she could always go to. It wasn't fair for her to keep a secret from him. Tori knew Beck wouldn't be the one to reveal anything to Andre, especially not after what had happened that morning. After his break-up with Jade, Beck had become more subdued, more snarky. He wouldn't risk his friendship with Andre by doing something else to make him upset. But, Tori knew that Andre deserved to know. She and Beck owed him at least that much. Tori noticed Andre's confusion as she pulled his arm so that it was no longer around her. She nervously placed her hands in her lap, rubbing her hands on her jeans to get rid of the sweat.

"Andre...there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it, muchacha?"

"Do you...do you remember...that week...before the Platinum Music Awards?"

Andre frowned. He did remember that week well. Tori had been dressing like a Lady Gaga-wannabe the entire week. Now, don't get the boy wrong, he did love him some Gaga, but the girl was acting Willy Wonky. And of course...the day right before the Platinum Music Awards...when Tori had come to school dressed normally and she and Beck had started explaining to everyone that Tori had only been acting strangely because she was contractually obligated, Andre had felt a bit disappointed. Yes, he knew that he had been a bit upset when he had gone to lunch a few days earlier with Tori and seen her drop food down another patron's pants, but he wasn't so upset that he shouldn't have been the first person Tori called to tell about her problem. He had honestly been a bit surprised when she had confided in Beck instead of him. It wasn't that he was jealous. He didn't have a problem with his two best friends getting closer, it was just that...Beck really did get _all_ the girls. And he had always sort of thought of Tori as _his_ girl. And even though Andre wasn't sure if he should interpret his feelings as purely platonic or not, he didn't want Beck to get her too.

"Well...the night before the day before the awards show...Beck came over, and he kind of figured out why I was acting weird..."

Andre frowned. He knew that he would have been able to figure it out too, if only he hadn't been around Tori so often that he'd gotten a front row seat to all of her rampages. Beck hadn't been around to go pick up the pieces after her rehearsed rages. Beck hadn't seen _anything_. Of course he'd figured it out.

"...and we were talking...and..." Tori paused, wringing her fingers as she did so. Andre placed one hand on her knee, urging her to continue.

"Andre...we almost kissed..." Andre's expression was unreadable for a few seconds. Before he could open his mouth, Tori pinched his lips shut.

"Just...give me a few minutes. We didn't kiss that night 'cuz my mom walked in. And the night right before the show, after you and Robbie left-"

"You two kissed."

"No! He was about to kiss me...and I rejected him." Andre was silent for a few moments.

"You rejected Beck?" Tori nodded.

Tori didn't miss the slight sadness in Andre's voice as he asked, "Why?"

"Why? What do you mean, why?"

"Why would you reject Beck? I mean, he's a good-looking guy-"

"Dude! I didn't reject Beck 'cuz I thought he was bad-looking! I mean, yeah, Beck's an okay guy-"

Andre scoffed. "_Just_ an okay guy? No offense Tor, but you've been hanging with that boy 24/7-"

"I know. And...this is going to sound weird but...Beck seemed like a really great guy when he was dating Jade. He was so sweet and fun and...he was so good with Jade. But after they broke up, he's been acting like-"

"A jerk? A trainwreck? A complete opposite of himself?"

"Yes! And...we know that he's only himself when he's with Jade. Why would anyone want to get in the way of what those two have?"

"Wait a minute...," Andre smiled, "you rejected him because of Jade, didn't you?" Tori returned the grin.

"We might be at each other's throats half the time but...she does care. Deep down in her twisted little soul." Andre chuckled, then became solemn again.

"I've never really known Beck to take no for an answer. Did he say anything afterwards?"

"He...started telling me that Jade wasn't my friend. And I think he was trying to get me to be mad at her for taking my spot in the show." Andre's face became red. He stepped off the couch.

"Unbelievable!"Tori placed a calming hand on Andre' s bicep.

"That's why I couldn't kiss him. He just sounded so desperate to get back at her. For what, I can't figure out. I...I didn't want to be a rebound."

Andre sat back on the couch, Tori following him. He ran an unsteady hand through his dreads. He missed how simple things were back when Beck and Jade were still together. When things still made sense.

"I...I can't believe he'd try to play you and Jade against each other like th-Wait...does Jade know?" Tori was silent.

"Tori...you _did_ tell her, didn't you?"

"Andre, how could I tell Jade that her ex wanted to kiss me even though I told him I wouldn't for her sake? How do I tell her that?" Andre let out a sigh.

"Well...you were mature enough to push him away. Beck's the one who needs to fess up, so I think you should leave it to him. Trust me, I don't think Jade will be mad at you. It's not like Beck is still chasing after you now, right?"

"Andre. Forget me. Beck's still crazy about Jade."

"Girl, what are you talking about?"

"No, seriously, I think he might be losing his mind. Last weekend, I went to his RV in the morning, and he was crying for Jade. And then I went inside, and he thought that I _was_ Jade! And then...well...he actually did kiss me that time..."

"WHAT?!"

"Would you calm down? He thought I was Jade! After I pushed him off, he realized I was Tori, and I left. Andre, Beck wants Jade back."

"He sure doesn't act like it."

"I don't think he really realizes it yet. But I do, and I know that you do. That boy needs Jade. He loves her. He really does." Andre rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Do you think we should step in and help 'em? Or should we just let those two work things out on their own?"

"I'm more than willing to help them. It's just a question of if they need it or not."

**Author's Note**: Please leave a review, thanks for reading! :)


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.

Author's Note: Sorry for the late update! Hope you all enjoy. Please leave a review!

Beck had to admit. When Tori had excitedly pranced over to their lunch table, announcing to everyone that her parents had given her permission to invite whoever she wanted to her family's beach house for the weekend, Beck had been relieved. Beck Oliver had been thoroughly exhausted. Since his "talk" with Andre and Tori, he had spent every day since going back and forth between avoiding Jade and doing everything in his power to try to spend time with her. When his teachers had given him the thumbs up to making his short film, The Blonde Squad, he had not hesitated to give Jade a lead in his movie. However, he had made that decision on a day when he was craving Jade's presence. The next day, when his friends had all come to a meeting to see who was getting which part, he had decided to give Jade the role of the dumb blonde. A decision which he deeply regretted the following day when they had begun filming, and Jade was ignoring him.

In short, he had made zero progress. He hadn't been able to forget Jade, and he hadn't been able to get her to talk to him either. He had wanted nothing more than to escape the clutches of Los Angeles, to escape the town where he had made all of his best memories with a certain dark scissor-lover.

So when Tori asked who would accompany her to her beach house, Beck had eagerly said yes, as did Andre, Robbie, and Cat. Tori had looked expectantly at Jade as the girl took vicious stabs at her salad. After a few minutes of intense begging, Jade had agreed to go. Beck's mood had soured a bit when he realized that he wouldn't be able to escape Jade completely, but he realized that he could always find some way to hide from her once they all hit the beach.

And Beck had been right. While everyone else had been having fun on the beach, Beck was on his back, floating on the water. As he watched the clouds passing overhead, he let his worries leave him with each wave that washed over him. He let himself be wrapped in a salty cocoon, where all he had to worry about was forgetting absolutely everything. And he would have been perfectly content to stay in the water forever, had his friends not started screaming from the sand that he needed to come in for dinner.

So Beck had reluctantly left the water so that he could wash the salt off his skin and eat with his friends. He was content. But he found that his relaxed state of mind quickly vanished when everyone had to separate into their rooms for the night. Tori's parents trusted her enough to allow everyone to stay in the house unsupervised, but they were adamant that the girls and guys be separated. Cat, Tori and Jade all shared a room, and Beck, Andre, and Robbie were supposed to share one as well. But, after realizing that one of the beds in the boys' room was broken, Beck packed up his sheets and moved into another room down the hall.

After entering the room, he quickly realized that the one window in the room wouldn't close no matter how he tugged at it. And no matter how he wrapped himself up in the blankets, he was always cold. Trying to ignore the chill settling over his skin, he stubbornly threw his head onto his pillow and shut his eyes, doing what he could to have sleep give him the solace that he needed. But under the blackness of his eyelids, all he could see was Jade sleeping beside him, her fingers intertwined in his and a leg draped over his stomach as they shared their warmth. And as his eyes opened, seeing that he was alone in his bed, he couldn't help but feel even colder. After a few more minutes of tossing and turning, Beck gave in. He tugged a jacket on and ran a tired hand through his hair, sighing as he got up out of the bed and left the room. He slowly closed the door to the beach house before heading out towards the water. He made his way over to where the waves were gently lapping over the sand. He was more than happy to feel the cool water between his toes, even if it only served to make him feel even colder. But seeing that the water helped to calm him, Beck started to walk down the shore.

After Beck felt that his head was sufficiently cleared up, he started to make his way back towards the house, keeping his eyes on the sand and salt between his toes. As he continued walking, he heard a voice call out to him. A feminine voice: low, voluminous, and tart; a sweet voice with a hint of seductive. Turning to see who had called him, Beck's gaze strayed towards the ocean. And as he saw the figure calling him, Beck prayed that someone would call him, that someone would tell him that he was hallucinating. Because calling Beck was none other than Jade West. And Beck knew that the universe must've really had it in for him; she looked ethereal. Beck turned to leave, but she called to him again.

"Beck. Don't go. Stay...Please, look at me, Beck."

And look he did. Jade was floating above the water, her pale skin iridescent in the moonlight, and her hair slightly tousled by the ocean wind. Her lips looked redder, her eyes bluer...every feature was heightened. Beck was nearly brought to his knees as he felt the undeniable pull towards the angel before him. Jade smiled the shy, sweet smile that had always been reserved for Beck and Beck only. Jade spread her arms, nodding to Beck.

"I'm waiting." Beck refused to make his angel wait a second longer than necessary. He began to walk into the water, not noticing the cold dampness overtaking his clothes and limbs. He did not notice how far he was going, and he did not notice that no matter how far he walked, Jade was always out of reach. She was always there with her arms outstretched, speaking in a teasing tone.

"How long are you going to keep me waiting, Beck?" Beck walked further and further in, giggling, giddy, telling Jade to wait for him. He did not realize that he could no longer feel his toes touching the sand, he did not notice the water filling his throat and lungs as he told Jade to wait. He did not notice. What did he care? In a few moments, Jade would be back in his arms. They would stay happy this time. Beck would make sure of it.

Once Beck finally reached Jade, he eagerly extended a hand towards her, never realizing that his fingertips were barely grazing the surface of the water. Jade smiled and bent towards him, pushing his hand out of the way as she placed her cold fingers on his cheeks. She pursed her lips and moved her head towards his. Beck smiled and waited for what he knew was going to come: bliss. But as he waited for Jade's lips to meet his, he felt her pause, her lips a breath away from his own. Beck was eager to close the distance between them, but before he could, he heard an ominous hissing. He watched as Jade's skin began to boil, bubble and peel so that all that was left was her skeleton, holding onto Beck. But soon, even that broke apart so that Beck was surrounding by Jade's bones and a pool of red. Beck watched as his angel dissolved. He didn't retreat from the water after she left him. He could still hear her calling him, "I'm waiting, Beck. I'm waiting."

Jade hadn't been able to grab even a few seconds of sleep. Cat and Tori were very intense snorers. Jade had tried to block out the noise, but it was to no avail. She eventually gave up, pulling a coat on and heading to the beach.

As Jade saw the moonlight streaming over the water, she immediately felt a little more calm. She walked over to where the shore met the sea and took a breath in. She looked out over the water, when she noticed a familiar fluffy head poking out of the water. She had no idea what would cause her ex to take a midnight dip in the cold water. Jade called out to him, but Beck did not turn around. She watched as Beck went deeper and deeper into the water, his head no longer visible. Jade waited a few moments, then realized that Beck wasn't resurfacing. She called out to him again, asking him to come back. But no one responded. She waited, she called, and no one answered.

Jade, panicking, immediately ran into the water, trying to get to where Beck was. She eventually reached his unconscious body and wrapped her arms around his torso. Jade frantically kicked towards the shore. She had never been the strongest swimmer, but she knew that Beck needed help. She eventually reached the shore and rested Beck on his back on the sand. Jade started to thump on his chest, preparing to administer CPR. She parted his lips and pressed hers to his, trying to force air into his lungs. When she pulled away from him, she saw that he was still unconscious. She repeated the process, this time her pounds on his chest were more frenzied. When she pressed her lips to his for the second time, she had tears running down her face. As Jade continued to breathe for him, she felt cold fingers grip her hand resting over Beck's heart. Jade pulled away from Beck to see that he was smiling at her, his eyes glowing as they ran over her profile. He then closed his eyes, his head resting in the sand. Jade yelled at him.

"Beck! Beck! Don't fall asleep! What is wrong with you? I just-"

She stopped yelling when she saw the smile curling on Beck's face. She hesitantly pressed a hand to Beck's cheek.

"Beck?" Beck opened his eyes again, placing his fingers over Jade's hand. He looked at the specks of colors in Jade's eyes, letting one word pass from his lips before closing his eyes again.

"Bliss."

**Author's Note**: Well, it would appear that I finally reached Chapter 10 of my first fanfiction. First of all, thank you so much to all of you who have been reading. It really means a lot. In particular, I would like to thank my calico, Jeremy Shane, KIMMIK100, kAtExxx, superstar1030, LivLuvLaf44, BJ13, imsantiago, luvinvictorious, Allie, PepsiColaxx, Aspen96, madkin, Caralynne, pariswriter07, XLarryXZiamXNiallX1D, WZRDmeesh, Dawnmist of River Clan, SeddieRulez13, and jjohnson 612. I would also like to thank everyone who took the time to favorite and alert this story. I would also like to thanks the guest reviewers; I might not know who you are, but you guys have left some of the sweetest comments. Thanks for the encouragement, guys. Thanks for reading, please leave a review!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, please continue to leave them! I apologize for the mild language in this chapter.

After Tori was jolted awake by a nightmare, she spent a few seconds rubbing the sleep from her eyes and looking around the room as she tried to get her heart rate back to a normal rhythm. She instantly felt a bit calmer when she saw Cat sound asleep in her bed, her arms tightly wrapped around her purple giraffe. She turned to her right to look at Jade's bed, noticing that it was strangely vacated. When she saw that Jade's jacket was missing too, she realized that her friend must have gone to the beach. Tori walked over to the window and slowly pushed it open. She stuck her head out and let the cold night air hit her as she scanned the sand for Jade. She couldn't see her, but over the crashing of the waves on the rocks, she swore that she could hear a female voice...screaming? She couldn't hear what she was saying, but she did sound scared.

Alarmed, Tori ran to the boys' room and slapped Andre awake. As she dragged his still drowsy figure out of the house, she explained to him what had happened, or rather, what she was worried was happening. Now awake, Andre searched the sand frantically looking for Jade. They did eventually find her, underneath a palm tree. But what they were surprised to see was that Beck was with her. Jade had his head cradled with one hand, and was using the other to slap him as she screamed at him. To say that Andre and Tori were confused would have been an understatement. As they made their way towards the two, it was easier for them to hear the heavy gasps Jade was taking in between screams, and see her tears that were falling onto Beck's face as he...didn't...react.

"Listen you moron I just dove into freaking freezing water to save your sorry ass so don't you dare just lay there! Just...my god Beck...open your eyes..."

When Andre and Tori sat beside Jade, she spared a second to look at them, then went back to alternating between shaking and slapping Beck.

"He has a pulse and he's breathing...but he just won't wake up..."

Andre pulled Jade from Beck and easily picked him up. He ran back to the house with Tori and Jade trailing behind him. When they stepped inside to the living room, Andre set Beck on a table and then took off towards the hall where the gang's bedrooms were. Tori took in Jade, who was still quivering as tears crept out.

"What happened?!" Tori didn't miss the utter pain in Jade's voice as she replied.

"Tori...I...I think he was trying to k-kill himself..."

"WHAT?!" Ever since that morning in Beck's RV, Tori knew that Beck might have had some of his screws a little loose, but...she didn't think he would _kill_ himself.

"Jade...I think...I think you're over-reacting. Beck wouldn't-"

"I'M OVER-REACTING?! Tori, I saw him go into the water. He didn't go swimming and get pulled under by a wave, he didn't get hit on the head, he just walked in. He walked into cold water so that his head wasn't above the surface, and then just _stayed there_. ...what...what _else_ could he have been trying to do?" Tori remained silent, starring at Beck's damp body, as Andre returned to the room with a pair of tiny socks. Tori and Jade both covered their noses.

"What...what _is_ that?"

"Rex's socks. The smelliest thing within five miles." Andre quickly went over to Beck and passed the socks in front of his nose several times. Beck opened his eyes, waking up gagging.

"Dude...Andre! You trying to kill me? I-" Jade quickly pushed Andre aside and proceeded to slap Beck across the face. Holding his cheek in his hand, Beck looked at Jade in shock.

"How...how _could_ you Beck? You have a _beautiful_ life. Why would you want to end it?" Beck looked at Jade wordlessly. And then,

"...what are you talking about?" Tori saw Jade's eye twitch. Jade then proceeded to attack him, slapping his chest over and over while Beck held up his arm in defense.

"For once...for _once_ Beck, don't you _dare_ act like you didn't do anything! Why?! Why would you-" Andre went behind Jade and grabbed her so that her arms were pinned to her sides. Jade tried to free herself, but Andre's grip on her was tight. Seeing that Jade was restrained, Beck finally spoke.

"Jade...I wasn't trying to kill myself!"

"R-really? Okay! Then explain what you were doing in the water!" At the word water, Beck started to remember why exactly he _had_ been in the ocean when Jade had most likely found him. He had been completely submerged in the water, unwilling to leave "Jade", or, at least, what he thought had been Jade. But strangely enough, Beck could not remember ever getting out of the water...Beck turned to Jade, his throat clenched. The air in his lungs only became denser when he registered the tears on her cheeks.

"You...you saved my life, didn't you?"

"What does it matter, considering you tried to-" Andre clamped a hand over Jade's mouth. Beck could see Andre flinching as Jade bit into his fingers. Beck felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Tori, and the fear in her eyes didn't escape him.

"Beck...were you trying to commit suicide?"

"No!" At this, Jade threw Andre off her.

"Then what were you doing?!" Beck tried to come up with something, he didn't think it was an appropriate time to tell his ex he'd been having hallucinations about her.

"There...there was someone in the water. She looked like she was drowning, so I went in to help her." At this, Andre and Tori exchanged a look between themselves.

"BULLSHIT, BECK! THERE WAS NO ONE IN THE WATER, YOU JUST WALKE-" Andre took Jade by the shoulders.

"Jade, I think you should go take a hot shower. You're freezing." Jade gave Andre an incredulous look.

"He...he just tried to _kill_ himself, and you're going to tell me to _take a shower?_"

"No, no, Jade it's just..." Andre paused, knowing that what he'd say next would hurt her. But for him and Tori to deal with Beck, Jade would have to be out of the room, at the least.

"...I don't think you need to worry. We're going to talk to Beck, I promise. But...I don't think he's going to want to talk to us about what happened if you're here, do you understand?" Andre felt a bit scared after those words left him. He felt Jade's blue eyes searching his before narrowing.

"You think he's not going to want to talk...because you think _I'm_ the reason why he did it, don't you?"

"Jade, I didn't say-"

"You think I'm the reason why he wanted to _kill_ himself, Andre? I-" Beck shoved Andre aside and took Jade by the shoulders, cradling her cheek in his hand.

"Jade, I didn't try to kill myself because of you! I didn't try to kill myself at all, do you understand me?!" Jade was wordless. She looked at Beck blankly, and then over his shoulder at Andre and Tori. Shaking her head, she removed Beck's hands and went out the door. Beck really didn't know what to say. The girl who, Beck had finally realized, he loved and needed was now convinced he'd wanted to end his own life because of her. As Beck starred sadly after Jade, Andre rubbed his neck. After the break-up, he had become Jade's confidant, and he had now broken her trust. Beck went back and sat on the table, starring at his hands. He eventually looked up at Andre.

"I could tell you wanted her out of the room, but was that really necessary?"

"...I had a feeling she didn't want to leave you. She was scared. I'm sorry, man, I didn't know what else to say. I didn't think she's take it-"

"Like that." Beck sighed. "I know...why'd you want her gone exactly?"

"Beck...", Tori walked over to him, her arms crossed. "did you go into the water because you saw Jade there?" Beck's eyes widened.

"I-I said I saw _someone_ in the water. I never said I saw Jade." Andre cut in.

"You know that it's never been too hard for me or Jade to tell if you're lying, right?" Beck hung his head.

"I know."

"So, what actually happened?"

"...I saw Jade out on the water. She asked me to come, and I went. That's all that happened, I promise. I wasn't trying to kill myself."

"But if Jade, the real Jade, hadn't been there, then you would've. You would be dead right now." Beck looked over at Tori, who was staring into space as she wrapped her arms tightly around herself. She met Beck's eyes.

"You might not have meant to, but if Jade hadn't been there, you would have killed yourself, Beck." Andre watched Beck carefully, and he saw the realization of what he had almost done finally reach him. He walked over to his friend and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Look, man, you know I love you, but I really think you need help. You need to get your head screwed on straight before something like this happens again. Promise us that as soon as you get home, you're going to see someone about this." Beck scoffed.

"You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"Are you going to get help or what?" Beck was silent for a while, thinking. But he finally nodded his agreement. He had let Jade go because he was tired of fighting with her. But now, he was tired of fighting with his head. He leant back on the table and fell asleep. He'd deal with everything once he got home.

**Author's Note**: Okay, the last chapter got more reviews than any other, so thanks for that guys! And I realized there was a user who I forgot to thank in the last chapter. This user basically taught me what I needed to know to move around on the site, and has been ridiculously kind to me. So, Djuro, thank you so, so much. Okay, thanks guys! Please leave a review! :)


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.

Author's Note: Sorry for the late update everyone! But, now that I've got the chaos of the first week of school out of the way, I present to you, Chapter 12! Please leave a review!

On the gang's first day back in school after their beach trip, Beck had spent all of his morning periods feeling incredibly fidgety. He knew that he had made a promise to Andre and Tori, and he knew that if he didn't make good on his word by his own will, Andre and Tori would make sure he fulfilled his promise, regardless of what they had to do.

It didn't escape Beck that Andre and Tori were watching him carefully as he sat down at their lunch table. It also didn't escape him that Jade was missing, and that she was sitting at a table far off in a shady corner of the Asphalt Café. After Robbie and Cat set their bags down and went into the line at Festus' truck, Tori pounced.

"Have you talked to Lane yet?"

"No."

"Why not?" Beck sighed.

"Look, I know that I promised you guys that I'd get help, but I just don't feel like talking to him right-" Andre cut in.

"Actually, what you promised us is that you'd get help _as soon as we got home_. And we're home. And Lane's available. So you're going to go talk to him. Now." Beck turned to Tori for back-up, but saw that she was giving him the same look that Andre was. Beck groaned.

"Fine, fine. I'm going, happy?" He picked up his bag and went inside the school building. But as Beck made his way towards Lane's office, a thought occurred to him. He turned around to head towards the opposite hallway, and towards everyone's favorite improv teacher's classroom. But, when Beck reached the door, he hesitated to turn the handle when he heard strange slurping noises coming from inside the room. Cautiously, he knocked the door.

"Sikowitz? It's Beck. Can I come in?"

"Come back later, I'm having alone time with my coconuts!"

"...it's kind of important, can we talk now?"

"Giving my coconuts the attention they deserve is important too!"

"Sikowitz, I...," Beck's voice dropped down to a whisper. He was about to utter a very rare set of words. "...I need help." Beck heard the slurping noise stop. A few moments later, Sikowitz appeared at the door, holding a straw-punctured coconut in his hand. He opened his mouth to speak, but then took a large swig from his coconut. Beck waited as he continued to slurp up the coconut milk. After Sikowitz had wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, he gestured Beck into the classroom.

"Enter, Elvis." Beck nodded and went inside. Sikowitz went in after him and shut the door behind them. Sikowitz sat down on the stage and invited Beck to sit in the chair in front of him. Beck sat down and shuffled his fingers as Sikowitz took another sip of coconut milk. Seeing the look on Beck's face, Sikowitz quickly finished his swig and set the coconut beside him.

"So Elvis, what seems to be the problem?"

Beck deadpanned, "I'm losing my mind."

"...and why are you telling _me_ this?"

"Because, aside from Jade, you're possibly the most bizarre person I know."

"But that doesn't mean that I'm _crazy_, or that I know how to help a crazy person."

"I know. But, you have," Beck gestured wildly with his arms, "_visions_, and stuff." Sikowitz looked amused.

"...you're coming to me for help with your psychological problems because I get visions from coconut milk?" Beck groaned.

"It was either you or Lane, okay? And since I've never actually had to speak to Lane before..."

"You'd rather talk to someone who actually knows you a little." Beck nodded. Sikowitz sighed.

"Alright, I'll listen. Why do you think you're losing your mind?"

"I've been having crazy nightmares, and I've been hearing and seeing things." Sikowitz looked thoughtful.

"...you know, maybe you're just being haunted by a ghost."

"...You've got to be kidding."

"Seriously, you must have done something to upset the ghosts of Hollywood Arts, and now you're being haunted."

"Sikowitz, I know I'm not seeing ghosts!" Sikowitz grinned.

"So...you know who you're hallucinating about, then?" Beck's eyes widened.

"What? Of course not! I'm...I'm not hallucinating about a _person_, exactly-"

"Beck, if you want me to help you, you're going to need to be honest with me. Are you having hallucinations about a person?" Beck hung his head.

"Yes."

"Okay. Do you know this person well?" Sikowitz noticed Beck's cheeks getting red.

"Yes...very well, actually." Sikowitz grinned mischievously.

"Is this person...a female friend, by any chance?"

"Well, if you want to use friend with a loose definition, then sure..."

"Ahhh, so it _is _a lady problem..." Sikowitz patted the spot beside him. Beck sat beside him.

"Beck...love is a very complicated thing. And if you think that you're seeing this girl everywhere, that might just be your brain trying to tell you that you like her."

"Well, I guess, but-"

"And if your subconscious is trying to tell you something, I think you should listen. And I highly doubt that this girl is going to reject you if you try to let her know that you like her."

"Actually, I'm worried she might stab-"

"And besides, I was under the impression that you and Tori were already together. I don't think she'd have a problem with you making it offici-"

"Wait, what?"

"I'm sure you and Tori would make a wonderful-"

"You think I like Tori?! Sikowitz, I've been seeing Jade everywhere, not Tori."

"Well, that might be a problem. Aren't you dating Tori?"

"What would make you think I was dating Tori?!"

"Well, I'm sorry, it's just that you two have been joint at the hip ever since you and Jade broke up..."

"Sikowitz, I can promise you, I am not dating Tori." Sikowitz nodded and reached for his coconut. As Beck mused over Sikowitz's words, he felt queasy.

"...have me and Tori really looked that close?" Sikowitz nodded as he sipped his milk. Beck had only wanted to kiss Tori during the Platinum Music Awards because he'd wanted to hurt Jade after thinking she'd moved on to Andre. But, as it turned out, neither Andre nor Jade were interested in each other. ...and if Beck _had_ looked like he'd moved on straight to Tori even before he'd been meaning to make it look that way...Beck realized that he'd really put Jade through an unfair amount of pain. He turned to Sikowitz.

"So...now you know what's wrong with me. What's your diagnosis?" Sikowitz set down his coconut.

"Well, you're not crazy. Crazy in love, possibly, but not crazy."

"Um...okay. So what do I do about the hallucinations?"

"Why do you want to do something about them?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know you and Jade aren't speaking to each other, and the visions give you a chance to talk to her. Why do you want them gone?"

"...doesn't it bother you that _you_ have visions?"

"...why should I be bothered?" Beck gave Sikowitz a strange look, then continued.

"...honestly, I don't really have a problem with them. Sometimes they're so realistic...I feel like Jade's actually with me. But...well, I almost drowned this weekend because of a hallucination. And Tori and Andre made me get help. So...here I am." Sikowitz gave Beck a long look.

"...okay. I'll tell you what I think you should do. But, I'll need to ask you a question first. And you need to answer me honestly."

"Okay. What is it?"

"Do you still love Jade?" Beck turned from Sikowitz for a moment, looking at the ring on his hand. It was really his and Jade' s necklace's pendant, but he didn't want her to see that he still had it, so he'd put it on his finger instead. As he fiddled with the ring, he gave his answer.

"I'll...I'll be honest. I tried to stop loving her. I tried to love other girls. I tried to love Tori, I tried to start something with some bimbos from Northridge. I thought I'd be better off if I could love someone who wasn't as aggressive as she was, you know? Someone who I was more likely to get along with. But, I was wrong. I missed arguing with her. I missed her sarcastic comments, I missed her scissors, and I missed that she was the only girl I'll ever know who isn't afraid to be honest, who won't try to change herself to please people. I missed that she wasn't the kind of girl to walk on eggshells when she liked someone, that she wasn't afraid to call me out when I was wrong...and I guess that's why we started fighting so much. I was in the wrong more than I'd like to admit. I'm not saying that she was a complete angel herself, but..." Beck ran his hands through his hair, as he felt the nauseatingly high levels of nostalgia clawing at his throat.

"...I think part of the problem was that I forgot that she tried to be one for me. She tried to be nice. I forgot that she wasn't just this tough girl who was arguing with me 24/7, that she was my girl...I forgot that she has more emotions than she'd like to admit underneath her hard skin." Realizing that he had now begun a full-blown Jade rant, he decided to cut his emotions short.

"So, in short, yes, I love Jade. I love her, and..." Beck chuckled, "I can honestly tell anyone who disagrees that I lose my mind when she's not with me." Sikowitz starred at Beck, then nodded.

"I needed to be sure. ...I think it's pretty simple what you have to do."

"And, what's that?" Sikowitz smiled.

"You love Jade. You miss Jade. You're going crazy over Jade...don't you think it's obvious that now you need to go get your bitter girl back?"

**Author's Note**: Okay, I'm really happy that I finally got to let Sikowitz into the story, I adore him. Thanks for reading, please leave a review! :)


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.

Author's Note: Hope you enjoy guys, please leave a review! :)

After his talk with Sikowitz, he gave him thanks and left the classroom. He could already hear his teacher's violent slurping of coconut milk before he'd even shut the door behind him. Beck could feel his thoughts swimming. He mused over what Sikowitz had said; he knew that he wanted Jade back, he wanted her back more than anything. But how could he possibly convince Jade to give their relationship another try? Jade had the memory of an elephant. She was not one to forgive and forget after someone had hurt her.

As Beck continued down the hallway, he paid little attention to where he was going. As he rounded the corner to enter the main hallway, he crashed into someone and landed on his back. He looked up from his spot on the floor to see Andre and Tori smiling at him eagerly. Andre grabbed his arm to help him up. As Beck walked over to his locker, his friends followed along behind him and Tori began her interrogation.

"So, did you talk to Lane?"

"...kind of?" Andre looked confused.

"Man, how do you only "kind of" talk to someone?" Beck groaned.

"Ignore that, just know that I got help. I talked to someone...are you two satisfied?" Tori only trudged on.

"So, what'd he say? Is he going to make you see a psychologist?"

"Did he hypnotize you?"

"Shoot you up with medici-"

"Guys! We just talked! He didn't do anything to me...he did give me advice, though."

"Okay, and what was that?" Beck looked at his shoes and mumbled.

"That...I should...try to get back together with Jade."

"Wait, what? How will that help? Won't that make you go crazier?"

"No, he said that I'm seeing her everywhere because my brain's trying to tell me something. And that would be that I miss her. So..." Andre gave him a strange look.

"So...what's the problem? Are you going to go fight for her or what?" Beck didn't respond, only bending down to open his locker. Andre and Tori exchanged a glance. Tori decided to ask again.

"Beck...are you going to get Jade back?"

"I don't see the point to me trying."

"What?! Beck, you can't give up that easi-"

"Tori, I'm not giving up. I know that Jade must hate me. How can I expect her to want me back after what I put her through?" Tori was quite for a few moments, thinking. Andre noticed her face light up with that glow that was always present whenever she thought she had come up with a fool-proof plan. He mentally braced himself.

"So...if I could prove to you that Jade still has feelings for you, would you go get her back?"

"Well, yes, but how would you do tha-"

"Just leave it to me. Jade is in the recording studio right now. Me and Andre will go in, and we'll ask her about you. You'll go outside and stand under one of the windows, you'll be able to hear everything for yourself. Would that be enough proof for you?" Beck slowly nodded. Neither Tori nor Beck noticed that Andre had gone very pale.

"Tori...I don't know if that's the best idea...maybe we should just ask her and tell Beck about it later..."

"Why? I know Jade still likes him! This plan is fool-proof!" Tori grabbed Andre's hand and began to drag him down the hall.

"Tori, do I need to remind you that every time we make a plan, it usually ends up screw balling out of control?" Tori chided Andre for being such a pessimist and yelled to Beck to go outside and wait. Andre and Tori eventually reached the door of the recording studio. Andre pulled Tori to a stop and tried to reason with her.

"Tori, I'm telling you, this isn't going to work, Jade's not ready to-" He was interrupted by the beeps coming from Tori's phone. Tori pulled her phone out of her pocket and quickly scanned the text.

"Okay, Beck's outside, which means we can start." She grabbed Andre and started to drag him into the studio. Andre tried to get her fingers out of his wrists, but he was quickly realizing that Tori had a very tight grip. So, instead, he settled for screaming.

"Tori, this isn't a good ide-" Andre stopped once he realized that he had already been dragged into the studio, where Jade was staring at him and Tori very coldly. They both straightened up immediately. Tori took a few cautious steps towards Jade.

"Hey, Jade..." Jade just looked at her blankly. Tori chuckled nervously and took a few steps back towards Andre. As Jade returned to her music, Tori shoved Andre towards her, muttering a feisty, "Talk to her!" As Andre unhappily moved to Jade, Tori went over to the window and opened it. As Jade heard Andre's steps approaching her, she looked up at him and narrowed her eyes.

"What, are you here to tell me that my very gaze makes parents want to hide their children?" Andre sighed and sat beside her, feeling a little hurt when he noticed her visibly lean away from him.

"Jade, I can promise you that whatever happened on the beach was a huge misunderstanding. Me and Tori talked with Beck, and he wasn't trying to kill himself. We even made him talk to Lane today, okay? And he's fine, I promise." Jade looked at him suspiciously.

"...you're not lying to me, are you?" Andre shook his head. Jade visibly relaxed.

"Well, okay then. So, why are you two here?" Tori joined Jade and Andre on the couch.

"We need to talk to you about something importa-"

"_Tori_ needs to talk to you about something." Tori gave him a look but continued.

"Well, uh...it's just that, when we found you and Beck on the beach, you just looked really scared and worried..." Jade gave her a strange look.

"So, you're saying you wouldn't be worried if found the guy you dated for over three years unconscious in the ocean?"

"No, I mean...you just seemed more worried than the average person."

"Really? 'Cuz I might have been freaking out, but you and Andre looked like you were going to puke." Tori sighed.

"Look, Jade, it's just that you and Beck have been broken up for a while now...we're just wondering if you still have feelings for him."

"If I what?!" Tori flinched at Jade's tone. This meeting wasn't really going how she planned for it to.

"If...you know...if you still want to get back together with him..." Jade looked at Tori for a bit, then set her papers down. She was quiet for a few moments, waiting carefully before finally speaking. She didn't look at Tori as she spoke.

"Tori, you're a girl. You're a girl who has had many boyfriends. You've had boyfriends who have cheated on you, used you, and a few that dumped you, right?" Tori nodded uncertainly. She didn't know where Jade was going with her dialogue.

"Okay. Remember that guy you dated a few months ago...what was his name...umm...Tony? He dumped you, right?"

"Well, yes, but I don't see how-"

"Didn't it hurt when he dumped you?"

"Well...yeah, I mean, I thought we'd had somethin-"

"Okay. You and Tony only dated for a month or so. How much did it hurt when he dumped you?"

"Well, it did hurt, but I guess-"

"Okay. Now, imagine that hurt that you felt. Imagine that hurt applied a hundred times over...can't picture it, right?" Tori shook her head.

"Well, imagine this. You and Tony dated for three years. He was your first boyfriend, your first kiss, the first person you thought ever really loved you. You spent almost all your time together and he made you feel really safe. _Now_ we can fast-forward to the break up. You guys go to your friend's house where he finally breaks up with you. And you realize that Tony could have never really loved you because, while looking back on your break up, you realize that a door was involved. Fast-forward a little more. Imagine that you and me were still at each other's throats while you were dating Tony. Now picture him trying to kiss me a few weeks after he dumped you, knowing full well that you didn't like me. ...tell me honestly Tori, would you really want to get back together with Tony after all that?"

"Well, no, but you and Beck are-"

"Me and Beck are _what_, Tori? Beck and I are finished, that's what we are. And the last thing I want right now is to be reminded of the guy who I could finally care less for." As Jade turned to pick up her song sheets, she noticed something strange in the window. She thought that she could just barely see a little bit of fluffy hair in the mussed up by the breeze at the bottom of the window. And there was only one person she knew with hair like that.

Jade felt her throat clench a little. Had Beck really heard everything she just said? Swallowing the lump in her throat, she spoke with a little less malice.

"I will never be able to deny that I loved Beck Oliver. But something else that I can't deny is that I'm happy now. Without him."

Taking in the solemn look on Tori and Andre's faces, Jade left, shutting the door behind her.

**Author's Note**: Thanks for reading, please leave a review! :)


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious. Or Twizzlers.

Author's Note: Sorry, for the delay, enjoy, and leave a review if you'd like!

Jade was awake. Wide awake. Every few minutes, she'd roll from one position to the other, trying to get comfortable. Eventually frustrated with the fact that no matter what she did, she couldn't get herself to relax, she eventually just laid down onto her side, digging her fingers into her pillow. She shut her eyes tightly and waited to slip out of consciousness. After a few minutes, she sat up and growled, then chose picking up her pillow and tossing against the wall as an appropriate course of action. She turned to her alarm clock, irritated when she saw that it was 2 o'clock in the morning. She had legitimately spent two hours unsuccessfully trying to get herself to sleep. Groaning, she threw herself back onto her bed, her arms splayed out. She closed her eyes. As much as she wanted to deny it, she knew exactly why she couldn't sleep. And as usual, it may have had something to do with a certain earthen-eyed boy. But, she'd be the last person to admit that to anyone.

She just couldn't get the image out of her head. Her first class after the incident in the recording studio, was, unfortunately, with Beck. As she'd taken her assigned seat next to him, she couldn't help but feel awkward. Admittedly, when Tori had asked her if she still had feelings for Beck knowing that Beck was listening, she wondered if he had only made Tori ask her so that he could rid himself of his guilty conscience. She'd had a suspicion that he'd finally found a replacement girlfriend, and just wanted to be sure that his bitchy ex was over him before making a move. So, she hadn't really felt a need to apologize to him after sitting down next to him.

As she waited for the teacher to come in, she couldn't help but let her eyes graze over Beck through the curtain that her hair had provided her. And what she noticed struck her as incredibly odd. Beck was a boy whose posture had never been the best. But he was completely slumped over in his chair. He looked defeated, which was a word that Jade had never, ever associated Beck with in her mind. His eyes were completely glazed over, bits of frost covering the earth. Jade's fingers reached to touch his shoulder, but she pulled her hand back. She was his ex, she wasn't allowed to ask him what was the matter anymore. For the duration of the class period, Beck did not look at her once. He didn't do anything but stare straight ahead, lost in space. When the bell rang at the end of class, he didn't move. It was like the sound hadn't even registered for him. Jade, hesitated, but then decided to shake his shoulder. He didn't respond at first, so Jade shook him harder. He turned to meet her eyes, and Jade was surprised by the amount of pain in them. His eyes searched hers for a few seconds, and then Beck put on his usual Beck face. It was something Jade had always hated about him while they were dating; whenever something would hurt him, he'd be upset, but then put his mask back on as though nothing had ever happened. He gave her a melancholy smile, then placed a hand over hers as he stood up.

He removed her hand from his shoulder, but still held her fingers in his. A small voice in Jade's mind told her to wrench her hand out of his, but Jade ignored it. She was curious as to what Beck was planning. She was surprised when she felt his warm hand on the small of her back, pulling her closer to him. There was less than a foot of space between them, and under his gaze, Jade couldn't help but wonder if he was going to kiss her. Jade was surprised by just how badly she wanted him to do so. They starred at each other for a few moments, then Beck slowly brought her hand to his lips, placing a soft kiss on her fingers. He released her hand, gave her a small smile, and then grabbed his bag and left. Jade tightly wrapped the fingers of one hand around the other, trying to ease the burning. She never gotten a kiss that'd felt so much like a goodbye.

Yes, it was obvious to Jade why she couldn't sleep. The two sides of her brain were at war, the side saying that Beck had never loved her, and the side saying that she should just accept the fact that the boy actually wanted her back. And that she'd hurt him.

For another half hour, Jade dealt with the battle running rampant in her mind. After tossing several more items at the wall, she remembered that there was always one position that she never had trouble sleeping in, and that would be safe in the arms of her boyfriend. Her logical side cruelly reminded her that Beck was not there. But as usual, she fought it. She was an actress and she was a writer. Drawing the audience into made-up worlds was what she did. How hard could it possibly be to draw herself into a fantasy? Jade closed her eyes and concentrated. When she opened her eyes, she found Beck in his pajamas lying on the pillow next to her, his arms folded behind his head as he starred up at the ceiling. Refraining from squealing that it had worked, she quickly scrambled over to him, nestling in his side, placing one hand on his chest as she wrapped the other around him. She waited for a few moments, then realized that Beck still hadn't moved. She looked up to see that he was still staring at the ceiling. She moved a little closer to him, hoping that he would take the hint. But, he still didn't move. Jade wasn't sure why her imaginary Beck was ignoring her. She cleared her throat.

"You know...I'm very cold." Beck still didn't move.

"...very, very cold." He didn't respond.

"S_UPER_ cold, Beck. I'm absolutely freezing. "

"And?" Jade was confused. By his question, and by his seemingly Cockney accent.

"...and?"

"What do you want me to do about it? I'm not your boyfriend anymore." Jade slowly detached her arms from him and sat up.

"...Beck?" He scoffed.

"I'm not Beck." Jade had to admit, she really wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"...okay then, guy who looks exactly like Beck, who are you?"

"Your conscience." He pulled a packet out of his pocket. "Would you like some licorice?" Jade slowly rubbed a hand against her temple. If this wasn't indication that her mind was seriously messed up, she wasn't sure what was. From between her fingers, she looked at the boy on her bed as he viciously bit into a Twizzler.

"You can't be my conscience."

"Why ever not?"

"You're a Canadian."

"So?"

"They're _evil_." Her conscience chuckled, then put the Twizzlers away and leaned back onto the bed.

"So, Mizzus, what are you going to do about it?"

"Do about what?"

"You _relationship_, of course! Did you think I'd come here to discuss your health?"

"...are you here to convince me to get back together with Beck?"

"No. I'm here to have my stomach pumped. Yes, you moron, I'm here to convince you!"

"But...but why? Me...and Beck...our relationship wasn't right! We...we were always fighting, and doing things to make each other mad..."

"And you also kissed and cuddled and worked and improved and made each other happy. Or did you forget?" Jade let out a hiss.

"No, I didn't _forget_, I just-"

"Just what? Tried to ignore the fact that you were happy with him in a pathetic attempt to save your pride?"

"What?! I wasn't trying to-" Her conscience suddenly sat up and starred intensely at her, effectively silencing Jade. He took her by the shoulders.

"Did you love him?" The intensity of his stare rendered Jade incapable of doing anything but telling the truth.

"Yes."

"Do you love him?" Jade hesitated, but was surprised by how light the word felt on her tongue.

"Yes." Her conscience released her, and then laid back down on the bed, his arms folded behind his head again. He closed his eyes.

"Then I really don't see what the problem is."

"But...but even if we did get back together...we'd end up at each other's throats again..." Her conscience turned to her, giving her a soft smile.

"You won't know until you try, will you , love?" A smile still on his face, her conscience faded away. Jade remained still, staring at the spot where he was for a few moments. Then, her lips slowly curled into a warm smile. She quickly climbed out of bed, grabbed her phone off her drawer and sent a text to Andre and Tori, demanding that they log into a video chat with her. She turned on her laptop and waited for them to get online. As soon as their faces appeared on screen, both people tired and clad in their pajamas, they immediately started scolding her.

"Jade, I cannot believe you would-"

"Girl, do you have any idea what time it-" They both stopped complaining when they saw the smile on Jade's face. Unconsciously rubbing that spot on her fingers, Jade leaned closer to the screen.

"Either of you babies interested in helping me get my boyfriend back?"

**Author's Note**: Hope you liked it, please leave a review! :)


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.

Author's Note: I am so, so sorry for the delay. Life's been busy. What to do?

As she waited backstage, Jade thrummed her fingertips against her knee, tapping out the rhythm of her song as she hummed the notes under her breath. It was Friday night, and a few days had passed since Jade's conversation with her Twizzler-loving conscience. After getting Andre and Tori onto video chat and telling them that she wanted Beck back, she was surprised that the two still cared enough about her after what she'd said about Beck to ask her if she was sure about her decision. Andre in particular, who had been Jade's rock and saw her tears after the break-up, pressed to know if she knew what she was doing. Jade told him she knew that Beck was a risk. But, so was life. She convinced him that Beck was a risk that she wouldn't hesitate to take. She _was_ the residential bad-girl, after all. Who better to take on Hollywood Arts' Canadian Casanova?

Andre and Tori had met Jade at her house the next day, where they found her scribbling things into her notebook, ripping the pages, crumpling them, and tossing them away before repeating the process again. Tori hesitantly asked her what she was doing, to which Jade hotly responded that she was trying to come up with a plan to get Beck back. Tori and Andre exchanged a confused look before Andre spoke.

"Have you considered...you know...just finding him and asking him?" Jade waved him off as she continued to scribble.

"No, no, that would be way too simple. And besides, what's the fun in just _asking_ him?" Tori brushed some stray papers off Jade's bed and sat next to her as she looked over her shoulder.

"Well...what are you planning on doing, then?" At this, Jade threw her notebook across the room.

"I don't know, okay! I don't know how I'm supposed to ask him! ...well, I mean, I know how. Any idiot can say 'Will you take me back?', but...," Jade covered her face with her hands, "I don't know how to ask him so that he knows that I _really_ want him back, you know?" Tori reached to pat Jade's shoulder while Andre looked as confused as before.

"...why can't you just sing him your song?" As Jade noticeably froze up, Tori had a look of surprise on her face.

"Jade, you wrote a song? When?"

"I don't know what he's talking about, I didn't write-" Andre failing to notice the slight panic in Jade's eyes, cut in, speaking while rummaging through Jade's closet.

"Yes, you did. Don't you remember? You asked me to help you fix some of the chords a really long time ago...oh, here it is." Andre pulled himself out of the closet, holding a dusty sheet of paper in his hands. Before Jade could make a grab for it, Tori got it and quickly read over the lyrics while Jade tried to get the paper out of her hands.

"Jade...this is so cute! You wrote this for Beck?"

"Nooo, I wrote it for my pet ostrich! Yes, it was for Beck! Give it back!" Jade finally got the song sheet from Tori and quickly ripped it to pieces. While Tori gasped, Andre just shook his head, turning to Jade as he spoke.

"So you ripped it. Whatever, it's not like you didn't have all of the notes and harmonies and lyrics memorized already."

"Jade, why don't you want to sing that to Beck? He'd love it!"

"I can't sing _that_ to him! It's too...too..."

"Un-menacing? Not deadly? Sweet? Am I getting warmer?"

"That's not why I don't want to sing it!"

"Isn't it?" Andre, noticing that Jade had conveniently decided to clam up, placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You know...Beck used to say that one of the best parts of being with you was those moments when you stopped trying to be so tough. When you just dropped the bad-girl act and let yourself relax. I think he was missing seeing your nice side when you broke up."

"What are you-"

"Jade, when was the last time you told Beck that you loved him?" Jade growled at first, mad that Andre would think that she wouldn't tell Beck something so obvious. But as she thought, she realized she really didn't know what answer to give him.

"I...I don't remember." Nodding slowly, Andre forged on.

"It might be obvious to the rest of us that you love him...but don't you think he deserves to know too?"

Jade thought about all this as she waited for her turn to take the stage. It had taken a little more encouragement, but Andre and Tori convinced Jade to sing her song to Beck. They had suggested going over to his RV and singing it to him then. But Jade had decided that she wouldn't be so private about it; she loved Beck, and she didn't care if every Tom, Dick, and Harry was aware of it. So, she had decided to perform in the Full Moon Jam, and she entrusted Andre and Tori with making sure that Beck would be there.

But Jade could feel it. The nausea. She could feel it climbing steadily upward from the base of her spine, causing her to eventually rest her head on her knees. She had never performed one of her own songs, much less in front of a crowd as big as the one attentively watching the stage. Performing came as naturally to her as breathing, but she couldn't keep herself from wanting to vomit. She wasn't sure if her song was any good, she wasn't sure if she was going to hit all the notes, she wasn't sure if Beck was going to like it or not. But as she heard the stage hand call her name, she knew it was too late for her to do anything but walk onto the stage with her bandmates.

Jade couldn't help but smile as she heard some of the cheers coming from the audience while she walked onto the stage. She could distinctly hear Cat and Tori's girlish squealing, and strangely enough, it calmed her a bit. As she took the mic into her hands, she heard the crowd calm. After looking through the masses, she eventually found Beck, standing, alone, with his arms crossed tightly in front of his chest as he stood with his back to the school building. But, he was looking at her. Or, at least, he had been; unfortunately, he seemed to find his shoes to be a much more interesting attraction. Sighing heavily, she decided it was high time that she began.

"Tonight, I'll be singing something that I wrote a while back for someone who means a heck of a lot to me. We kissed, we fought...and he's the only person I know who can deal with me while I'm going through coffee-withdrawal." As the audience chuckled, she looked out of the corner of her eye at Beck, who she saw was smiling.

"He knows who he is. And...I hope he's willing to listen." Nodding to her accompanists, she gripped the mic more firmly as she heard the first few notes of the piano. She closed her eyes and let the first note slip from between her lips.

_You've been on my mind  
I grow fonder every day,  
Lose myself in time  
Just thinking of your face._

Jade slowly opened her eyes, her vision immediately flitting to Beck, who she saw was starring, wide-eyed.

_God only knows  
Why it's taken me so long  
To let my doubts go  
You're the only one that I want_

The boy's expression never changed; a smile never appeared. Jade rolled her eyes. Did she honestly expect for him to react?

_I don't know why I'm scared, I've been here before_  
_Every feeling, every word, I've imagined it all,_  
_You never know if you never try_  
_To forgive your past and simply be mine_

But, Jade soon recalled something that Sikowitz had told her during her freshman year at Hollywood Arts: there are a million things that the audience could be doing with their time while you're on stage. It's up to the performer to make sure that they don't want to do anything but watch. Jade realized that she had a perfectly good opportunity to get Beck to finally listen to her. And making sure that the student body remembered that she was the most talented bitch they'd ever meet would be a nice little bonus. She quickly pulled the mic from the stand, throwing herself into the lyrics of the song as her emotions did a dangerous and deadly tango all over the melody.

_I dare you to let me be your, your one and only  
Promise I'm worthy to hold in your arms  
So come on and give me a chance  
To prove that I'm the one who can  
Walk that mile until the end starts_

_If I've been on your mind_  
_You hang on every word I say_  
_Lose yourself in time at the mention of my name_  
_Will I ever know how it feels to hold you close?_  
_And have you tell me whichever road I choose you'll go_

_I don't know why I'm scared 'cause I've been here before_  
_Every feeling, every word, I've imagined it all,_  
_You'll never know if you never try_  
_To forgive your past and simply be mine_

_I dare you to let me be your, your one and only_  
_I promise I'm worthy to hold in your arms_  
_So come on and give me a chance_  
_To prove that I'm the one who can_  
_Walk that mile until the end starts_

_I know it ain't easy, giving up your heart_  
_I Know it ain't easy, giving up your heart_

_(Nobody's perfect, trust me I've learned it)_  
_I know it ain't easy, giving up your heart_  
_(Nobody's perfect, trust me I've learned it)_  
_I know it ain't easy, giving up your heart_  
_(Nobody's perfect, trust me I've learned it)_  
_I know it ain't easy, giving up your heart_  
_(Nobody's perfect, trust me I've learned it)_  
_I know it ain't easy, giving up your heart_

_So I dare you to let me be your, your one and only_  
_I promise I'm worthy to hold in your arms_  
_So come on and give me a chance_  
_To prove that I'm the one who can_  
_Walk that mile until the end starts_  
_Come on and give me a chance_  
_To prove that I'm the one who can_  
_Walk that mile until the end starts._

She let her voice quietly fade out as the song ended. As she returned the mic to the stand, she noticed just how heavily she was breathing. She hadn't given such an exuberant performance in all her life. Leaning against the stand for a second to catch her breath, she looked out at the audience. She was deaf to the applause, her eyes searching for Beck. Realizing that he had abandoned his spot at the wall, she searched the audience for her friends, all of whom were laughing and smiling as they pointed behind her. She turned to see that Beck was on the stage with her...and he was smiling. He quickly ran to her and wrapped his arms tightly around her as he placed kisses all over her hair, her forehead, her lips. Jade felt like laughing; he'd heard her, alright. He'd heard her loud and clear.

Beck eventually pulled away from her, cupping her face in his right hand as he brushed tears off her cheeks. Jade hadn't even realized she was crying. His eyes were soft and warm as he leaned his forehead onto hers.

"I've missed you." Jade folded into his arms, surprised by just how much she had missed the feeling of his hands as they pulled her ever closer. Just as she was about to relax into his embrace, her brain, being the gank that it was, decided that it was a perfect moment to remind her of just how many tears she had shed over this boy. But, as Jade looked up at him, seeing the love in his eyes, she quickly decided to not let her insecurities rule and ruin her any longer. She buried her face into his neck as she wrapped her arms around him, then looked up at her boyfriend, smirking.

"I know." Beck smiled, and bent down to kiss her lips. But Jade quickly stopped him, putting her hand in front of his mouth. Beck pulled back, shocked. Jade gave the large audience a nervous glance, and then turned back to her boyfriend.

"...there's something I need you to know, too." Beck, confused, watched Jade as she grabbed the mic from the stand next to them. She took a deep breath, then looked into his eyes as she whispered.

"I love you." Beck couldn't help the wide grin that overtook his features. Noticing Jade's shuddering as the audience gave off a loud, "AW!", Beck quickly pulled her close and attacked her lips. The audience's Aw's soon turned to groans as the couple made out. Beck eventually pulled away from her, playing with her hair as he questioned her.

"You want to go home?" Jade responded, teasing.

"Eh, I got nothing better to do, so why not." They both chuckled as they hopped off the stage, their fingers solidly intertwined as they ran towards the parking lot.

Sikowitz soon came out of the school building, a coconut in hand, and walked over to his students, who, like the rest of the audience, were still staring after the odd couple. Taking a sip from his coconut, he leaned over to Cat.

"What are you all looking at?"

"Jade sung a song."

"And Beck went onto the stage with her."

"And now they're back together." Pausing for a second, Sikowitz quickly threw his coconut onto the ground and stomped off.

"I MISS EVERYTHING!"

**Author's Note: **One more chapter to go, guys. :) For anyone who doesn't know the song, it's One and Only by Adele. Liz has an amazing cover of it on her youtube channel; check it out if you want to hear Jade sing Adele. ;) A sincere thanks to all of you reading this story. Leave a review!


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious or Robert Frost.

Author's Note: Last chapter, hope you all enjoy!

Beck shut the door of the RV behind him, never stopping to remove his arm from its recently reclaimed spot around Jade's slim waist or part his lips from hers. And as much as he desired for that connection to remain, he couldn't help but laugh as his girlfriend tripped, pulling him down with her as she landed on the bed. He allowed one hand to tangle into her hair as he buried himself into her neck. Oh, how he'd missed her. He stayed in that position for some time, inhaling her scent deeply as he wondered how he could have possibly forgotten the beautiful narcotic that was skin-on-skin over the months that they'd spent apart. But, alas, nothing gold can stay. His reverie soon fizzled out in cracks and bursts as he felt her pull away from him, leaving the taste of her skin lingering on his lips.

His confusion only increased as she pulled herself into a ball at the corner of the bed, her eyes darting around quickly as she avoided his gaze. He slowly pulled himself over to her, placing his hand on her spine to let his fingers draw circles around her vertebrae. When she still refused to talk, he decided to speak up.

"Is everything okay?"

"You know that we have to talk about it." Hoping that playing dumb would allow him to avoid the inevitable, Beck asked her what she meant.

"_It,_ Beck. The break up, our relationship," finally meeting his eyes, she added in a smaller voice, "...us?"

"...we don't-"

"Yes we do, Beck!"

"Jade-"

"Look, we've broken up twice, and...I really don't want there to be a third time, okay?"

"Babe-"

"In case you couldn't tell already...I really _did_ miss you. And that day I got stuck waiting outside Vega's door...it was kinda one of the worst days of my life."

"You're not-"

"Would you please just listen t-" Beck kissed her. Jade allowed him for a few moments before shoving him off. Beck ran a hand through his hair, then quickly wrapped his arms around Jade as he pulled her into his lap, ignoring her protests.

"I'm not saying that we shouldn't talk about it. I know that we need to, but...why tonight? We're going to talk, I promise. But when we do, I know that...well, I know that it's going to be painful. We'll get through it, but it's going to hurt. Or, maybe I'm just over-reacting. Maybe it'll actually just give us both the answers we need."

"I-"

"Look, it's just that tonight, I'm still thinking of how lucky I am that I managed to get you back...and no offense, but right now, you don't look so ready to talk."

"Meaning?!" Smirking, Beck leaned over to press a kiss to her jawline.

"As much as I'd love to continue what we were doing earlier...babe, you're exhausted."

"Am not."

"I saw you yawn during the drive here. ...you're usually tired after a performance." Jade pouted.

"I'm not tired!" Beck adjusted so that he could speak into Jade's ear.

"I've been dating you for years and, with luck, will be dating you for many years to come. I think I know how you work." Jade thwacked his chest.

"You're a sap." She leaned into his chest, attempting to stifle a yawn. "But... I love you anyway."

"Good to know." They both kicked off their shoes as Beck set her down to lay beside him. He spent a few minutes running his fingers through her hair. He was about to kiss Jade's neck when she rebuffed him.

"You know, it's considered sexual assault in Canada if you kiss your significant other while they're sleeping." Beck groaned.

"So? I have American citizenship." Jade slapped him.

"Ow! Alright, alright...just let me turn off the light." As Beck sat up to reach for the light switch, he let out a scream that caused Jade to tumble out of his miniscule bed and land face first on the floor. She quickly pulled herself up and grabbed a pair of scissors from its hiding spot under Beck's bed.

"What is it, what's wrong?!" Jade looked around to see that there was nothing unusual in the RV.

"Beck, why'd you scream?"

"Oh, you know...just practicing for this play that I'm auditioning for..."

"So I landed on my face for nothing?" Realizing that her boyfriend wasn't going to tell her his real reason for screaming, Jade placed her scissors back in their spot and climbed back into the bed.

"I swear, sometimes you just drive me nuts..." Noticing that her boyfriend was not responding, she turned to see that he was staring ahead at some spot on the wall.

"What are you looking at?!" As he continued to stare, Beck patted her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, just try and get some sleep." Jade rolled her eyes but obliged her lunatic boyfriend. Beck was, for once, glad that no one could see his hallucinations but him, for he was sure that any sane person would faint at the sight of the creatures hoarding his RV. All of his varying hallucinations of Jade were staring at him, some with limbs severed, some with varying cuts and bruises, and one that was simply a skeleton (he could distinctly remember that the skeleton had once been a siren at sea). Beck was confused; he had Jade back, shouldn't the hallucinations have ceased?

Beck noticed a particularly menacing Jade make her way over to the real Jade with her fingers outstretched as they reached for his love's neck. He quickly held a hand up to the bloody girl, signaling for her to stop as he placed his other hand on Jade's shoulder in a gesture that would have let anyone realize that he would destroy anyone who tried to hurt his girl. Bloody-Jade raised an eyebrow in surprise, but then backed off to return to the mob of creatures. As he gripped Jade's fingers in his hand, he saw that all of the monster Jades were watching him carefully. Beck felt his blood pump just a little faster; what could they possibly want from him?

But soon, one of the Jades gave him something resembling a smile. Then, Beck watched in fascination; the blood and bones and gore of the creatures began to vanish as they regained their vitality. All of the now-healthy and normal-looking Jades soon began to exit the RV in a single-file line, each one waving goodbye to him as they left. Soon, there was only one Jade left in the RV, with the exception of the real one. Beck immediately recognized her as the one that had started it all, the one who had cried out her own blood in his first nightmare since the break-up. Rather than the crushing depression that was present during the nightmare, her eyes were very warm as she walked over to Beck, stopping to stare at him for a few seconds before leaning to kiss his cheek. She bent down to give him a hug, which Beck was too shocked to return.

After releasing him, she made her way to the RV door, pausing to give Beck a wink before shutting it behind her. Beck released the breath that he had been holding and threw himself back down onto his pillow beside his living, breathing girlfriend. But just as he shut his eyes, she spoke up.

"So, you've finished staring at the wall?"

"Yeah, I'm good now." As Beck curled around his girlfriend, he recalled something she had said earlier.

"So...I drive you nuts, huh?"

"Oh, absolutely." Jade turned to face him, placing one hand on his chest.

"...Do I drive you crazy?" Beck chuckled. He pulled Jade close to him and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her head before leaning back onto his pillow.

"You have absolutely no idea."

**Author's Note**: Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! Getting over 100 reviews on your first fanfic is just crazy. I honestly hope you all like my next fanfic just as much, the first chapter should be on the site at some point today. Once again, thanks everyone! Oh, and get psyched for the real Bade reunion on December 1st! Keep calm and ship Bade, guys. Keep calm and ship Bade. :)


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